


What Lies Between

by Dmnq8



Category: Naruto
Genre: Angel!Sasuke, Angst, Dark fic, Demon!Naruto, Evil!Naruto, M/M, Religious Conflict, Religious Imagery & Symbolism, Spiritual
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-03-25
Updated: 2011-04-29
Packaged: 2018-02-11 11:51:25
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 6
Words: 39,570
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2067108
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dmnq8/pseuds/Dmnq8
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>As in, 'All Heaven, Hell, and what lies between.'</p><p>"It is choice, not chance, that determines your destiny."- Jean Nidect.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

  _"Angels are bright still, though the brightest fell." ~ William Shakespeare_

_ Prologue  
_

_Waiting._

_No, not waiting._ Hesitating _._

_He'd transgressed, gone astray. And there would be a reckoning. His Maker saw all, knew all. It was known even now by Him, so it was not a matter of waiting to be Summoned; he'd had the will to go against his nature, therefore he must demonstrate his will and seek out his punishment._

_It would be severe, he knew that much. He wasn't supposed to be capable of fear, but then that could be said of nearly all his actions of late. So he waited. Hesitated._

_And then Sasuke ascended from where he'd hovered in the lower heavens._

* * *

Heaven was a peaceful, stately, orderly place. Quiet. Joyful, yes, but a quiet joy. His Presence, too awesome and exalted to be confined by the mere dimensions of Heaven, nonetheless filtered down from where He sat above it on His Throne. This further gave Heaven an illuminated atmosphere of holy goodness and grace.

The angels therein didn't go skipping about with their joy or have the spare time to play harps, but they were a friendly, cheerful, overwhelmingly _good_ bunch of beings who went about their tasks with their customary good nature. There was never outright laughter, but there were pious, dignified smiles, and kind words. Never was there any sort of agitation or upset, no meanness or discontent. Certainly no one was ever hurt, but then angels couldn't physically feel.

Oh, and one other thing. There was no free will.

Angels received Commands and carried them out happily. Anything else was out of the question. The one angel in history to ever go against Him was now running Hell. It was speculated on whether or not he'd even been a real angel to begin with, but not overmuch. Angels were too busy being happy and obedient to wonder about the one who'd fallen.

-oOo-

Sasuke was an exception to the rules angels lived by, simply because he was exceptional. He came into being like other angels, but received no specific task. Sometimes the greater angels were given the job to oversee the lesser angels. Having been created as one of these lesser angels, Sasuke had looked up to his mentor. But that particular angel was the very one who'd fallen from grace, so he was no longer in the picture. Sasuke watched as all his peers were assigned jobs, while he remained without. He reasoned that as an agent of good he must then go forth and do good, and so took it upon himself to energetically spread His goodness throughout the world.

Millennia passed. With the advent of man on Earth, a whole new host of problems cropped up, which pretty much began with that first angel's disobedience. Afterwards, demons, previously content to cavort in the depths of Hell, took it upon themselves to become attached to the sons of Adam and lead them astray. Great evils were perpetrated right from the beginning. Angels suddenly had more to do.

Sasuke was in his element, thwarting demons' actions left and right, averting disasters. Sometimes he saw other angels doing the same, but they never managed to compare with his deeds.

When he wasn't doing His work, Sasuke took to the lower Heavens. He often went there, watching the lives, the fleeting, brilliant lives of humans. He wondered. He thought. As his race wasn't supposed to be able to do. It was from here that he saw, and was able to prevent, much evil. Here, too, he could witness the good of mankind and feel pride in their accomplishments: A hand extended in compassion, an apology given, bread shared. He saw these things and felt pride in goodness and in being one of His instruments for good. Sometimes these tender sights caused an upwelling of emotion in him that he tamped down sternly. Angels didn't feel anything but happiness and awe of His magnificence.

Night was falling. As darkness shrouded half of the world, Sasuke remained vigilant. Oftentimes the worst evils were perpetrated at night.

* * *

Night time was the _shit!_ That was when the real fun began, and the most damage could be done. All of humanity's fears came out at night, and those were always amusing to play with. Naruto whooped with glee at the frightened screams of the three young women he'd allowed to fall prey to a band of men. They were in the woods, camping and giggling around their little fire. The men trafficked in women and girls, selling them on the black market for the pleasures of the wealthy, and often used these woods as their hunting grounds. He watched for awhile, as they were raped brutally in order to be broken in to their future trades. He was soon bored, however, and sought other entertainment. Before leaving, he whispered to one of the men to have a cutting party with the youngest woman, a girl of sixteen. She really was too pretty to be allowed to live, and this particular man had a penchant for gore.

That actually afforded him a bit more fun. The man was skilled. Naruto followed him to his trailer in the woods, where the man prepared the girl for her final hours. The girl's screams were dulled with the morphine he pumped through her veins. He was actually able to slice open her abdomen with something that looked like an antique razor, one of those that had a handle. The man bent and lapped up the bright gush of blood, bathed his face in it, even cupped his palm beneath the flow and drank thirstily. Naruto had to shake his head in admiration as the man reached in and carefully lifted out a single, whitish coil of her intestines, handling it cautiously to prevent it from bursting. He drew out nearly the entire length of her entrails while she was alive and aware… well, somewhat aware. The girl's senses skipped a few levels up the evolutionary ladder due to the drugs and the severity of her pain; she clearly saw Naruto hovering behind her tormenter as he bent to cut out her heart. She screamed her loudest yet as the pumping organ was tugged wetly free, and it had nothing at all to do with the fact that she was being butchered. Naruto waggled his fingers at her departing soul, shrugging his shoulders in discomfort at the passing feel of one of _them._ He couldn't see the holy fuckers but he knew when they were around.

Towards the end of night he lucked out and found one of those annoyingly good vessels of purity. A nun. She looked like one of those trainees, one that hadn't taken her vows yet. She was driving along, no doubt off to pray to Him with the dawn or some other such fuckery. Naruto had himself a last bit of fun by doing away with her brakes. He gave her car an added little shove and sent the thing careening down the winding mountain road. He would have stayed for the crash that was surely coming, but he hated daylight and the sun was coming up. He disappeared to the soothingly dark caverns of Hell.

* * *

"Oh! Oh, God, no!"

Sakura pumped her brakes futilely. The mushy, unresisting feel of them alarmed her greatly, but she maintained her wits and steered her accelerating Echo around the deep curve. A glance at her speedometer showed her doing 75 mph and gaining speed; if she pulled her emergency brake she'd go crashing through her windshield, even with her seatbelt fastened, which it was. "Oh, please, Lord, help me!"

She'd just had her car serviced, too. She was a safe driver, obeying all speed limits and regulations. The speed for this road was posted as 50/mph. She'd been doing half that, what with the low visibility due to morning fog and the sun not quite being up. Besides, she was a naturally cautious person. Her gospel music was playing softly and she was singing along just as softly, awash in love for God and the glorious new day unfolding around her.

Her brakes had given out right beneath her foot. She hadn't even touched the gas, yet her speed had gone from 25/mph to 60 in the space of a blink and she'd had her hands full with the wheel. She continued to pray quietly, faithfully certain that her Lord would take care of her.

She ran over a pine cone. The wheel jostled briefly from her grasp, spun in the opposite direction of the descending, winding road, and sent her catapulting toward the flimsy railing. It was the only barrier between the road and a sheer drop into a valley thousands of feet down. The car struck this railing with an earsplitting screech of metal on metal. The hood flew up, and then Sakura knew a feeling of weightlessness.

She could see, from her side window, how quickly she plummeted toward the bottom of the valley. The car tumbled, revolved, and still she was conscious, still okay, not yet having struck anything. Her hands, gripped tightly on her steering wheel, were white.

The bottom was coming up fast. It seemed like forever since she'd gone over but it had probably been only a second or two. She looked at the way sky and earth switched places repeatedly, and the tension and fear in her body left her.

She was going to die, she knew that now.

A feeling of peace settled in her. Sakura closed her eyes and slowly released the wheel to fold her hands beneath her chin. If this was it, then it was her time. She had no real regrets. She hadn't quite been sure she wanted to take her vows just yet, but she'd always been a God-fearing person. She'd led a happy life. "Thy will be done, Lord. Take me unto thy bosom." She waited for the impact, her lips moving in prayer.

After some seconds, Sakura still felt weightless. Far be it from her to criticize, but the Lord sure was taking His time to end her life. She opened one eye and peeked out her window… then gasped.

She was flying.

Well, not her, her car. It was no longer tumbling, but sailing up toward the mountain road, turned right side up. She quickly pressed the down button for her window (which miraculously still worked) and leaned her head out.

In defiance of all, her car seemed to be floating on air. It was set down on the road as lightly as a feather, where it rocked gently before becoming completely still. All she could see now was the rocky wall of the mountain from her window, and the open space of the valley through the passenger window. She remained in her car, seat belt fastened, and completely dazed.

The abrupt and fearfully loud sound of the hood of her car being forced down frightened her so badly that she squealed. She groped frantically for the cross she wore on a chain. The hood lowered slowly, and now that she was looking, she could see fingers, a hand, gripping it. The hood was pressed down until it had no choice but to remain so, and Sakura was at last able to behold what had saved her.

He was huge and he was beautiful. Her glimpse was brief, but as the sun came up properly and struck this creature, she caught the distinct, yet ethereal sight of enormous white wings. The face turned toward her, the eyes looked into her own. She felt tranquility and serenity flood her mind, so that she smiled through her unnoticed tears. The wings, barely discernible, spread and swooped downward. Then he was gone.

Sakura got shakily from her car to stare skyward, her crucifix clutched so tightly in her fist that she didn't even realize she was bleeding. In later years she would say that she took her vows that day because God had saved her through one of His emissaries. The truth was that after that fateful morning, she'd taken her vows because she secretly hoped, in her heart of hearts, to see her savior again through her association with the church. To the other inhabitants of the chapel it seemed that she loved God devoutly through her ceaseless prayers. Only she knew that she loved the angel who'd saved her, and that she committed a great act of blasphemy by praying to him.

* * *

Sasuke stood in the lower heavens again, watching. An angel appeared at his side and stood with him, watched with him. "Greetings," this other said.

"Greetings," Sasuke replied. He pulled his eyes away from the sight of a couple kissing their newborn son to look at who'd addressed him. He stood straighter. It was none other than one of the highest ranking archangels. "Greetings," he said again, facing the angel this time in a posture of stiff attention.

The archangel, whose name wasn't known to Sasuke, continued to look at the couple and their new son. "That couple has waited long to be blessed with a child," he said. "Over thirty years. In fact, they are past childbearing age."

Sasuke shifted guiltily, then stopped immediately. Angels didn't feel guilt, because they couldn't do wrong. He was usually good at hiding his abnormalities. Still, he felt compelled to explain. "I know. I only brushed her, only endowed her with a few more fertile years, so that a child would be possible…it made them so happy, and they are good people, will raise a good son, you'll see-" The archangel said nothing, but Sasuke could tell he'd both revealed much and overstepped his place by rambling. "I'm just trying to do some good," he finished quietly.

"By taking a hand in matters of life and death?" the archangel asked mildly. His eyes never left the newborn, far down on Earth.

"I…" Sasuke recalled the woman he'd saved. "I don't understand why I'm being questioned. Others of our race go forth and do good."

"Because they are Commanded to do so. Were you Commanded?"

"No."

"Yet you do much."

"I do good."

"You _do_ what you want to do," the archangel corrected. "And you have been monitored because of that. These latest acts of good have gained Attention." The archangel turned finally to Sasuke, and Sasuke wished that he hadn't. There was something in those eyes that had nothing to do with joy or good cheer, and everything to do with speculation and avid suspicion. No angel ever looked at another angel that way. "You've been tasked."

Sasuke felt an immediate burst of gladness, then let his sudden smile falter. "I've never been tasked before."

"No. You haven't. And yet you have done much," the archangel repeated. "One could say more than any one angel ever has. Which is why you've been tasked. Prove yourself equal to the task and all will be forgiven. Complete the task successfully, and you will be rewarded."

Sasuke didn't like the sound of that. Was he in need of forgiveness? And why was a reward suddenly available, when he'd been doing good for so long without one? "What is the task?" he asked finally.

The archangel pointed at the newborn without looking at him. "'Go you down to what you have wrought.' That is the only message given to me to give to you. I have passed it on."

Sasuke was just as suddenly alone. He stood turning the archangel's final words over, trying to divine their meaning, or the nature of his task. His eyes were drawn back to Earth. He looked down at the baby boy and felt his smile return. After all this time, he had finally gained recognition through his deeds. Swollen with pride, he descended to Earth and the elderly couple.

* * *

Hell was a dark, terrible pit of raucous revelry. The inhabitants were loud, gleeful, never at peace, full of maliciousness and spite. Evil was not only done on Earth but right there in Hell itself, against each other. It was a pit of excesses, desires, indulgence and, above all, pain. The demons were weaned on pain. It was like food to them. Thus they inflicted it on the humans and gloried in their misery, for pain had many manifestations; a human's inner pain was often sweeter than any physical pain they experienced.

The chief evildoer, and ruler of Hell with its many levels, strutted through the rutting, murdering minions he governed as he searched for one demon in particular. Up There, the greatest angels occupied the highest levels of Heaven. Down here, the greatest demons lived in the lowest depths. The one he wanted was at the very bottom, with three considerably weaker demons spread out before him. The shaggy blond head moved between one quivering, bleeding cock and another, sampling and licking and biting.

"Naruto."

The blond head turned. "Master. Fancy seeing you down here, off your throne." He licked blood from his chin with a swipe of his long tongue. "Busy now."

"You're insolent."

Naruto sat on his haunches. The merest flick of an eye from their Master sent the three demons vanishing. "Fuck. I missed out on three tasty women up there, and thought I'd sort of recreate the experience here." He scratched his cock idly, staring with hooded eyes at his Master.

"You've been doing stellar work of late. That latest stunt, turning one who followed Him to sacrilege like that, though that wasn't your intention… a thing of beauty. Not even the interference that saved her life could cancel the result of your actions." He paused, considering Naruto a moment. "I have a job for you." He pointed upward at Earth with one long finger.

Naruto looked up and saw the couple with the newborn. He started to sneer, then looked closer at all the occupants of the little house. A glance at his Master confirmed his suspicions. He looked back at the house. "Why me?" He stood up, realizing the honor being bestowed on him.

"You're my strongest demon. This is a job I can entrust to no other. Succeed, prove yourself, and you will be given-"

"-A place at your left hand?"

"Naruto." The voice was a reproachful hiss. "You know that place is reserved. I will, however, give you a place second only to the one on my left. No higher honor exists. But fail me…"

Naruto snorted. "You know I won't fail."

* * *

Having been given no specific task on Earth, Sasuke thought the logical place to start would be with the elderly couple and their son, especially since this was where he'd been Commanded to go. He was confident that he would know his task when he saw it.

He was sitting at the foot of the cradle, watching the boy sleep, when a flash of flames in the corner of the room had him turning his head.

A naked man.

He knew right away that the man wasn't human. Sasuke took in the wild blond hair, but it was the red, slit-pupil eyes and long canines that named the intruder as demon. Sasuke stood up and placed himself between it and the cradle. Though he was highly interested in this sudden, strange turn of events, he spoke automatically, as he knew he was supposed to. "You don't belong here. Be gone, foul creature."

Naruto studied every detail, from the cradle being shielded from him, to the way he wasn't attacked out of turn. He noted these things, but his attention was focused completely on _it._ The angel. Demons ordinarily couldn't see them, not being privileged and such, but seeing as the assignment was special, he guessed the rules were different. Had to be. That was the whole reason for the assignment.

Sasuke had never seen a demon before. Unless Commanded to interact with one for a specific purpose, angels were above them in every way. "You are a demon, aren't you?" he asked now. The creature nodded once, slowly. "And you obviously hear me. I have commanded you. Demons must obey angels if they are commanded by them."

Naruto grinned. Oh, this was priceless. A noob! A fucking noob. This would be easier than he thought. Ignoring the statement, he looked him over carefully, missing nothing.

The angel stank of the perfumes of Paradise. He had to squint to look at him directly, but he couldn't deny that he liked what he saw. Even tainted with piety as the angel was, he could feel an elemental tug in his guts. He chose to ignore that for now.

The angel was tall. The same 9 feet as his own height, he saw. Very white skin, very black hair, very black eyes. The purity and clarity of him was a physical ache, one that drew him closer despite the stench of cleanliness and his aura of goodness. The angel's clothing manifested itself as a nondescript, blindingly white _thing_ that seemed to have the substance of the clouds he probably walked on. It draped off one creamy, muscular shoulder and fell to just above his bare –sparklingly clean- feet.

Fascinating. But what he really wanted to see was-

"Show me. Show me your wings."

Sasuke frowned. The voice was not guttural, hoarse, or in any other way like he'd believed a demon's voice would be. It was pleasant. Silky-

_(seductive)_

-making him feel an urge to do what it said. It was deep. Sasuke tried to recall if angels sounded as pleasant. He didn't think so. Angels sounded quite normal in comparison with this demon.

"My wings? Why?"

Naruto was learning as he went, considering and discarding strategies, adjusting his approach. He would get farther quicker with this assignment if he pretended a certain level of ignorance, he saw…though his reason was partly true. "Never seen an angel before."

"Oh." Sasuke's brow cleared.

Naruto saw him stand up straighter. From the angel's bare back a set of enormous, majestic wings unfurled to fill the entire room. The rustle was loud, and the perfumed reek grew stronger; light glowed from within the angel, bright enough to obscure his features, so that Naruto understood that this display of wings necessitated the angel undergoing a partial reversion to his true form. He held an arm over his eyes as that detestable light sent spikes of unbearable pain into his head. "Fuck, enough!" The light vanished, taking with it the wings. Naruto laughed weakly as his headache receded.

"Don't you have wings?" Sasuke asked curiously.

Curiosity. Something angels weren't supposed to have. Oh yeah, this one was different all right. Inquisitiveness was the mark of a self-willed creature, not one who obeyed blindly. "Got tails," he grinned wickedly. "Nine of them." And he let them grow, swishing and lashing about to fill the room just as completely as the wings had done.

The subtle stench of decay and corruption that had appeared with the demon grew bolder. Sasuke wrinkled his nose. The tails disappeared.

Sasuke took his time studying this creature.

Nudity. Sasuke may have come across a nude mortal or two during his existence, but it hadn't been something he'd given his attention to. This demon, however, was impossible not to look at. Sasuke noted the ruddy skin tone, the single curlicue of blond hair that sat directly above the equally rosy organ…somehow that curl of hair emphasized the lewd practices angels never indulged in, but that demons were known to do almost constantly. The rounded muscles, neither too large nor too small, were the same as Sasuke's, and likewise seemed to bespeak lusts and desires foreign to Heaven and its inhabitants. The demon was _unclothed_. Exposed. Unashamed, and therefore unclean. Sasuke equated his nudity with sin-

_(forbidden)_

-that temptation of all mortals. It was a fruit every thinking creature tasted of at one point or another in their lives. Without fail. Everyone sinned.

Except angels. Devoid of free will, created to worship and obey their Lord, angels were the only sin-free creatures of higher intellect in existence. As such, Sasuke considered himself safe from the perils and pitfalls of falling into sin. He felt free to experience the presence of the demon fully. Leaving the baby boy, yet mindful of him still, Sasuke walked up close to the demon.

His stench was foulness itself. The red eyes followed his movements. Sasuke saw how the demon winced at his proximity, and he had to admit that being this close to the demon brought on a feeling of heat. It was uncomfortable. This startled him. Angels did not feel heat or cold, pain or pleasure. Feeling something, after millennia of feeling nothing, caused Sasuke to creep closer still.

The sensation of _sensation_ at long last gave him an odd feeling of elation. He felt as if his very essence quickened. Intelligent, articulate creature that he was, Sasuke could not say just what it was that fascinated him about this unprecedented event… only that his mind was fully engaged, and he immediately felt a craving, a desire, where he'd never desired anything. Drawn to experiencing more, discomfort or not, Sasuke hesitantly reached out a finger to touch the demon's cheek, staring into those strange eyes with their elliptical pupils.

The pain was immediate, making Sasuke snatch his hand back with a hiss, and the demon jump backward with a snarl. The demon rubbed his cheek, teeth bared and eyes narrowed, as Sasuke looked wonderingly at his hand. He looked back at the demon and saw that his organ was now fully erect, and the look in his eyes was altered. Sasuke stepped back, rubbing his fingertips together thoughtfully. "What was that?" he asked.

"Demons and angels are forbidden contact. I would think you'd know that."

Sasuke supposed he should have known that. Something else occurred to him. "Why are you here, Demon?"

"Got a name." The voice was still silky, but now had a resentful grumble to it as well.

"Don't presume I would pollute my tongue with your name, whatever it is," Sasuke said.

Naruto arched a brow. "Fine. I'll play along for now. What are _you_ doing here, Angel?"

Sasuke moved to stand by the cradle once more, laying one large hand on the curved hood covering one half of it. "I have appointed myself guardian of this child. If you think to harm him, you will be stopped."

"Oooh," Naruto hissed lasciviously, apparently over his shock and disgruntlement at the touch. "Stop me, huh? That would entail more touching. I find touching you… interesting." He took hold of his erect cock and wagged it playfully at Sasuke, whose face tightened in disapproval.

"You're obscene."

Naruto pointed his cock thoughtfully at Sasuke. "Do angels have cocks? Seems like they wouldn't, since they never get to have any fun."

Sasuke was silent. Whether or not angels had reproductive organs, as the demon had been crass enough to ask, was not something he knew; the demon was right in saying that angels did not engage in mating acts. To Sasuke's knowledge, all angels were male. Demons, on the other hand, came in both genders and did in fact procreate. The sight of the bold genitals was fascinating. He briefly looked down at his garment and considered lifting it to inspect himself. No. There was no need for that. Unimportant, he told himself, whether or not he had the same parts as this demon. He waited to see what would happen next.

-oOo-

Naruto recalled his strategy to pretend ignorance. He slowly dropped his grin and proceeded to wring his hands, hanging his head. "I'm sorry. This is my first assignment, and I'm not exactly sure what I'm supposed to be doing here." He peeked up at Sasuke through his wild hair, pouting the way he'd seen humans do. "I'm used to being around my own kind, so forgive me for saying offensive things like that."

He winced, thinking that was too sharp an about-face to be believable. The angel, however, really was naïve, as he proved with his response.

"I, too, am out of my element," Sasuke said. He turned toward Naruto, his expression one of curiosity again. His body language said clearly that he was no longer on the offensive.

Naruto noted this and filed away the knowledge that so long as he didn't behave cockily and didn't mouth off, he'd sail beneath this creature's radar. All good. "So you forgive me then?"

"I was not aware that demons were capable of remorse," was the cautious reply.

Naruto intensified his pout, shuffling over to a corner to sit down. His eyes were sharp beneath his sad expression, judging every nuance of the angel's alert eyes. "I think I'm different." He turned his head aside as if ashamed.

Sasuke edged closer once more. "Are you really? Is that common amongst you?"

Since his face was turned toward the wall, Naruto allowed himself a hard, savage grin. _That's it, you pious motherfucker. Feel nice and sorry for the demon who's different because you can relate. Oh, I got your number all right._ He was careful to make his voice sound forlorn. "It's not common at all. I think I'm the only one like me. If you really want to know the truth… I was kicked out. Of Hell. I think… I've been banished." Naruto worked up a choked little sob.

Sasuke came and sat beside the demon, feeling that heat sweep over him again. He took a moment to savor the feeling, still a novelty to him. He knew demons were created of smokeless flames, just as angels were beings of light. Did the demon feel anything from him in turn? "I know what it is to be different. I believe I've also been sent here because of it."

Naruto was almost crying with the effort not to scream with laughter. What the angel said was actually true, that was the best part. Naruto's story was the one that was all lies. He concentrated on holding in his mirth, making his voice hitch. "You… you think maybe we were sent here for some reason? A reason not having to do with this family?"

Sasuke considered this. "In order to work together?" he said dubiously. "That is unheard of. Angels and demons do not collaborate."

Naruto quickly covered his face with his hands, struck with a brilliant idea. The beauty of it was so delicious that he'd burst out laughing despite his prodigious efforts not to. He managed to muffle and throttle the outburst until it sounded as if he were sobbing with grief. He kept his hands over his face to hide the maniacal grin he wore. He could sense the angel's discomfort, sense the fucking _empathy_ of the creature, and it made his stomach boil with acidic hate. He entertained a vivid image of himself clawing that white face completely off. The eyeballs would get snagged on his claws, and he would have a fine time biting juicily into each one, letting the jellied filling ooze over his lips and tongue.

In time.

For now, he sniffed and calmed himself down, still covering his face. The thought of this creature looking at him with sympathy pretty much killed his mirth. "Maybe not work together," he said quietly, as if imparting secret knowledge. "I told you I was banished. I think being with you is my punishment. I'm probably-" Naruto nearly choked at saying it, but forced the words out. "I think I'm supposed to learn from you." He risked a peek through a tiny gap in his fingers and felt his grin returning.

Sasuke's expression cleared. That made sense. That made _perfect_ sense. He, Sasuke, had done so much good upon the earth that he had been tasked with a mission of supreme difficulty: reform a demon, one who'd been cast out of Hell. His chest swelled with the faith obviously put in him for this task, one that was surely without precedent. "I believe you are right."

Naruto lowered his hands at last. The look on his face would have been clearly recognizable to any mortal as one of sly cunning. The smile was thin and smug, the eyes hooded with triumph. But Sasuke, free of evil in both mind and soul, saw only a smile accompanied by wet eyes, the last evidence of the demon's sorrow. "Since we're to work together, do you think I might know your name?" Naruto asked meekly.

A serious nod. "It is Sasuke."

Which was something Naruto had already known. "I'll understand if you really don't want to say my name." He hung his head again, closing his eyes as if he were in pain.

"I would be proud to know your name," Sasuke said.

_Proud, huh? You poor, sorry, simple fool._ "Naruto."

"Naruto," Sasuke repeated. In calling a demon by name he felt a strange kinship with it, a closeness he couldn't define.

Familiarity with evil, Naruto thought with private glee.

One hurdle down.

_"Subtle he needs must be, who could seduce angels." ~ John Milton_


	2. Chapter 2

" _The mind can make a heaven out of hell, or a hell out of heaven." ~ John Milton_

-oOo- _  
_

They sat by the baby boy, silent. Naruto watched the small body rise and fall with its even breathing, and knew an urge to do murder. Never had he curbed this urge in the past, but he did so now, forcing himself to be silent and still so that Sasuke could make the first move. He had to be very careful if he wanted to succeed. Under no circumstances could he alert Sasuke to the fact that everything he said and did from this point on would be an act.

Sasuke was thinking. He supposed simple prolonged contact with Naruto would eventually dilute any remaining evil in him, but he wasn't sure how to go about turning him into a creature of good. Could it even be done? If it could, he was sure that he, of all angels, would be the one to discover the way. After all, what else could his assignment be? For that, he would need information.

He looked to his right, where Naruto sat glumly staring at the baby. "What did you do? To get banished?" The red eyes slid in his direction, an unreadable expression in them. "You must have done something?"

Naruto returned his eyes to the cradle. "I had a problem carrying out… certain demonic activities. I felt they were unnecessary. Not all acts, mind you. Most of the time I'm able to be perfectly evil. Just sometimes… I couldn't do things."

"Such as?"

"Murder. Chaos. I think the thing that decided it was when I…" Naruto turned his head aside in embarrassment. "No, I can't say it."

"What?" Sasuke asked, mesmerized. The range of emotions the demon displayed was startling. He'd thought all they were capable of feeling was hate and malevolence, and joy at evil. But then, this demon was different, just as he himself was different and capable of feeling things. "Please tell me."

Naruto was overcome with hatred just then. He simply could not _stand_ being around such goodness and kindness. It was _killing_ him. But he'd been selected for this mission because he was the strongest… strong enough to withstand this angel. "I saved someone from drowning. Someone important, destined to make a difference in the world."

Sasuke smiled. "But that's good!"

"I know. I'm not supposed to _be_ good," Naruto choked out, sure he would vomit on these atrocities he was saying. He'd sunk entire ships full of people. "I feel so… conflicted. Why do I feel this way?" _If I don't kill someone soon I'm going to fail this mission._

Sasuke unwittingly moved to put a hand on Naruto's shoulder in comfort, then thought better of it.

Naruto noticed. "Thought angels couldn't feel fear?"

"They can't. _We_ can't. But… I'm different as well, as I mentioned." Sasuke thought for a moment. "Your tumescence earlier was an indication of pleasure. Human men manifest their desire to mate that way. You enjoy pain?"

Naruto nodded slowly, his smile close and secretive. "Didn't you enjoy it?"

"I've never felt anything like it… or anything at all. It was painful, not pleasurable."

"Pain and pleasure are the same thing."

"I think not."

"How would you know, if you've never felt either?" Naruto crept over to sit on the floor in front of Sasuke. "How do you know if what you felt was even pain? Couldn't it just as easily have been pleasure?"

"I suppose… but it hurt. Pain is defined as hurt."

"Pain is relative, a thing of the mind," Naruto purred. "Angels, essentially having no thinking minds, do not feel anything. But how sensation is interpreted is open to the mind itself. Did it really hurt you? Weren't you even a little curious about it?"

Sasuke was rapt. This was all new information to him. He nodded faintly, gazing at the red eyes. "A little. It grew uncomfortable."

Naruto nodded slowly, mimicking Sasuke. He held the eye contact. "New things often are."

There was some silence, as the feeling of kinship Sasuke felt earlier grew. With it, his new-found desire to experience sensation over rode his previous caution to allow physical contact. He suddenly said, "I want to touch you again."

Naruto rose up on his knees immediately, presenting his chest. Sasuke regarded the broad expanse, and noted dimly that the smell of Hell was nearly unnoticeable now.

Watching the angel frown in thought was satisfying. Every expression, or gesture, or word that displayed Sasuke's uncertainty was a crack to slip through. Naruto held still as one white hand lifted. It stopped just short of touching him, hovering over his skin.

Just the proximity of Sasuke's hand stung. He hadn't thought just being around the angel would be so taxing. He hadn't felt it right away, but being in Sasuke's presence was like slowly being sucked dry of his power. Of his essence. Sasuke's purity necessitated Naruto having his guard up, and the effort of maintaining it constantly was an unwelcome surprise.

Sasuke's hand landed on him with a cool touch. The pain followed instantly, fierce, intense, and sizzling.

This time Naruto braced himself, calling on his power to combat and nullify the seep of Sasuke's light into him. He whistled quietly, then grit his teeth. Eventually, he was forced to grasp Sasuke's arm when the pain escalated towards the limits of his ability to tolerate. He held on, his white claws digging into the flesh.

Sasuke grimaced, but he could see that he was in less pain than Naruto. Naruto's hand, then his entire arm, disappeared in a flash of defensive flames. And still the demon held to his arm. His own hand glowed white from the continued contact with Naruto's chest, and he could feel his light pulsing in him. It was intensifying, beginning to leak out. Sasuke could see a rictus snarl on Naruto's face, and belatedly realized the demon was smiling.

And the red eyes were changing. They were a curious shade of purple now, and the pupils-

The pain suddenly became uncomfortable to him too, though, and Sasuke pulled his hand and arm away. Naruto shook his head hard, blowing on his hand. A glance showed the demon's organ to be standing stiffly.

"Don't get me wrong," Naruto gasped around a small chuckle. "I like pain, but that shit is fierce. Did you feel that?"

"I did. Just as I did before."

Naruto had caught the downward glance. "Hurts, but it felt good," he said sheepishly. In fact, the steady ache he felt just being around Sasuke felt good too, he decided. It was nothing, at any rate, to compare with physical contact. "Did it feel good to you?"

Sasuke appeared to consider. His own smile was slow. "I believe it did… at first." He moved closer to Naruto. "Your heat is pleasurable, at least."

Naruto refrained from sinking his teeth into Sasuke's face, though he let the image play out in his mind. This close, the reek coming from Sasuke left him dizzy and feeling ill. He swallowed hard.

Sasuke recalled the infant when the baby gave a small snore. He smiled down at it, then looked at Naruto. "I love him already. He is special to me."

_Seems like we've reached the caring and sharing segment of this partnership,_ Naruto thought in disgust. He struggled to offer a smile in return… then decided to do likewise and share his true feelings as well. The best deceptions were those closest to the truth. "I can tell. I feel like killing him, but… I don't _want_ to feel that way, you understand?"

Sasuke did. And if he was to reform this demon then he would have to begin by helping him. "Perhaps if you tried doing some more good? It might counter your other urges. Or I could extol the virtues of Heaven, or sing His names to you, or-"

Naruto was gone as abruptly as he'd appeared, with a flash of flames. Sasuke felt strangely bereft.

-oOo-

For a long time, he sat staring at the place Naruto had vacated. He thought long and hard on the encounter, on the things the demon had said, on how being around him had felt. Nothing whatsoever in his vast experience of Heaven came close to the reality of being around the demon.

That was just it, Sasuke realized. Being around the demon felt real, felt…good. He'd thought of himself as an aberration in creation, a mistake. But Naruto was also different. The demon was, in fact, just like him. He knew the same fears and doubts, the same bewilderment and uncertainty regarding his true purpose. _I'm not alone anymore,_ he thought with wonder. _I've made a friend._

Friendship was not something angels needed or indulged in. Each angel received tasks and carried them out. Period. They were happy yet solitary entities. Sasuke considered the fact that in Heaven he'd been lonely. Very few, if any, of the other angels had spoken to him. And then he compared this with meeting Naruto. There was a world of difference. To have someone speak to him at last, to sympathize and understand…

A small, fleeting thought went through Sasuke so that he gasped guiltily where he sat. _I'd rather be down here on Earth, with Naruto, than in Heaven with my own kind._

Shocked at himself, Sasuke covered his mouth with one hand.

* * *

Time held little meaning for demons and angels. They could and did manipulate it to suit their needs or whatever task had been appointed to them. Eons could pass in the time it took an angel to ascend from one level of Heaven to another, or a demon could kill hundreds of infants around the world in the time it took a man to lift a cigarette to his lips. When next Sasuke saw Naruto, the baby had grown to preschool age, yet it seemed that scarcely any time had passed.

They were in a grocery store. The elderly woman pushed the boy, named Konohamaru, in the shopping cart down the canned goods aisle. Naruto flashed into being beside Sasuke as he walked behind them. Sasuke felt an immediate gladness. He'd thought of the demon constantly in his absence. He was speaking to Naruto even as the strangeness of him feeling these emotions washed over him.

"Were you called away?" he asked.

Naruto toyed with various lies, before settling on one. "I was saving some monks from an avalanche, then… I tried to kill myself."

Sasuke found himself drawing closer to that fascinating heat. "Demons cannot be terminated unless by His-"

"I know. But why do I have to suffer? Why am I cursed to do good and then unable to end my misery? Why can't I do what I was created to do?" He turned his head aside and sighed in upset.

Sasuke felt as if he were listening to his own words. He too, knew the agony of feeling one way while expected to behave in another. Not that he felt an urge to do evil, but why was he never able to wait for Commands as the other angels? Why did he feel discontent and impatience? Of all higher beings, he'd thought that he was the only one to feel so wrongly. Yet here was Naruto, again sharing his inner turmoil and proving how alike they were. "I do not know," he offered by way of an answer. "I trust that there is a reason, though. A divine one. It is not our place to question Him or His Plan." He looked at Naruto's pensive face and decided that it held a peculiar, intimidating sort of beauty. He felt something in his chest twist. _I've missed him._

Naruto stared at the boy swinging his legs in the cart. "Does it seem fair to you?" he asked quietly. "To be created for a specific purpose while compelled to do the opposite of what you were created for? Does it?"

Putting away his bewildering thoughts, Sasuke brought himself back to the topic at hand. "We cannot always-"

"Does. It. Seem. Fair?" Naruto enunciated, his voice lowering.

Sasuke looked at the dark red eyes. "It does not."

No sooner had he spoken, than Sasuke felt a sensation he could only describe as alarming. He felt… as if something in him had been cut loose. It was accompanied by a fierce ache in his mind… then all the discomfort vanished. He stopped walking. The old woman and Konohamaru pulled some distance ahead.

Naruto watched him to see if he'd recall his words. When Sasuke didn't, he quelled his satisfaction and hastened to say, "But we mustn't say such things, it's wrong of us."

"Yes. We won't mention it again." Sasuke's eyes were troubled.

Naruto smiled inwardly. _We, huh? And that was doubt. Doubt against your Maker._ It seemed absence would do the trick of getting his mission accomplished.

Sasuke frowned in acute disappointment when Naruto disappeared once more. He hoped the demon wouldn't try to end his existence again. The faint stench of Hell yet lingered on the air. He found himself wondering why it didn't seem as unpleasant as before, and leaned into the scent to smell it properly.

Then he was distracted by one of the many accidents that seemed to happen around Konohamaru.

* * *

He saw Naruto sporadically through the boy's growing years, each time for brief periods. These meetings were usually at night, when Naruto felt most comfortable showing himself. Each time, Naruto seemed a little more beleaguered and desperate, until one night he begged Sasuke.

"Come with me," he implored one evening.

The boy, Konohamaru, was seven and sleeping soundly in his bed. Sasuke sat at the foot of the structure, watching him. "I must protect this boy. I was sent here to guard him," he reiterated. But he looked longingly at the night sky visible through the bedroom window.

Naruto studied Sasuke's look of regret. "You're accustomed to protecting many. You told me yourself that you didn't know your specific mission here on Earth."

Yes, and he'd decided that his mission was to reform Naruto, Sasuke thought. "I was sent-"

"To do good. I think you were sent for me, Sasuke. I need help. I've… killed. Again."

Sasuke looked up sharply. "But what of your good deeds?"

Naruto hung his head. "I'm created evil!" he gasped in anguish. "It's what I'm meant to do… I have to try, even if it's difficult for me. Would you give up on doing good just because you weren't given specific Commands?"

Sasuke felt his heart go out to Naruto at the demon's pain. "Never. But if you refuse to give it up, how can I help you? _Why_ do you want my help?"

A good point. He'd contradicted himself, Naruto realized, by earlier stating that he didn't want to do evil and had been banished because of this, and now saying that he refused to give up on evil. He resorted to a common human excuse. "I'm so confused. I'm afraid that if I don't receive help soon, more people will die needlessly."

Sasuke watched as Naruto covered his eyes with his hands and dropped to a sitting position. He moved to sit in front of him and hesitated only a moment before leaning closer. Naruto's heat and stench washed over him and he felt relaxed… as he always did when Naruto appeared after his absences. "Naruto… do you _want_ to be good?"

The words were ripped from the demon's throat with great difficulty. Naruto grated, "Yes. But I also want to be evil."

"Then stay here, with me." Sasuke let his palm rest on Naruto's knee, and immediately that tingling sense of pain and pleasure ran up his arm. The light within him pulsed at the contact. "I will not let you go astray."

Naruto hissed in air at the touch. It was painful, but not quite as bad as before. It was more enjoyable this time, and he dropped his own clawed hand atop Sasuke's, intensifying the burn. "I might harm the boy. I know he's important to you. Would you risk that?"

"He is protected by my grace."

"You can't always protect him. Not if it is Written that he be harmed, can you?"

That gave Sasuke pause. "No, I don't suppose I can."

"And if he is truly your sole reason for being sent here, you would be unable to leave him. Have you tried to leave?"

"No."

"Then come with me. _Help_ me. You're meant to help me, I feel it."

Sasuke raised his eyes to those red ones and stared for a long time, thinking. A slight frown of doubt knit the skin between his brows.

Naruto frowned too, at discovering that the stench of Heaven became noticeably less with Sasuke's nod. Likewise, his touch didn't sting quite so bad. Naruto went so far as to caress the hand on his knee and was rewarded with the angel's light pulsing strongly. It signaled Sasuke's enjoyment, but left Naruto slightly weakened from having to withstand it.

* * *

The demon led the angel by the hand.

They walked from the small bungalow, to the end of the stone walkway that led from the house door to the sidewalk. They stood there in silence. Sasuke gave a small gasp at discovering that he wasn't tethered to the boy, as he'd thought. The realization left him feeling deeply sad. Had he truly been ordered to Earth with no purpose? Cast out of his rightful place, as it were? Why? What had he done to earn such treatment?

His head had been bowed at feeling the emptiness of his false assumptions regarding his purpose. Now Sasuke lifted his head and looked at Naruto, at the unwavering red stare. He clasped the clawed hand a little tighter in his own and felt that there was nothing unpleasant in the grip, nothing but comfort and camaraderie. These were things he'd never felt, should never have needed, but Sasuke was coming to find that many things that _shouldn't_ be, nevertheless _were._ Perhaps Naruto really was his true purpose. This thought seemed correct, though it did not lessen the emptiness he felt. Likely only saving Naruto, and thus completing his mission, would do that. He offered a tentative smile.

Naruto smiled back. His long, sharp teeth glistened in the moonlight.

Sasuke looked around at the night, at the sky and stars and beyond, up to the lower regions of the heavens. He cocked his head. "There is evil afoot."

"There's always evil afoot."

"It's worse now. Can you feel it?"

Naruto shifted his shoulders as he closed his eyes and put his head back. "Yes."

Sasuke, too, closed his eyes. He could sense the catastrophes, the suffering, though not the demons who caused most of it. He opened his eyes again to regard his companion. "Why?"

"We're near the end of the human era. The Age of Miracles is passing. Judgment will come soon and in these final days, man is left to redeem or damn himself by his own actions. Demons and angels were active players in the beginning, but mankind has progressed far enough to be left alone, for the most part. They don't heed guidance, and are often capable of greater evils than even I can think up. It has been decided that they will pass or fail the test of life on their own strengths and weaknesses."

Sasuke didn't need to ask who had decided. He felt grief. "Can they not be saved?"

"Saviors have been sent to them. Countless saviors throughout the thousands of years man has walked the Earth. Do you see a difference in their behavior?"

"But surely they will be given a chance? One last chance? Good must triumph!"

Naruto stared into the distance. His voice, never more seductive or mesmerizing than at that moment, was barely stronger than the breeze that blew over them.

"You're not the first to raise such an argument. In fact, the very same question has come up in Higher Realms. A last chance did arise. Since man only ridiculed those sent from amongst themselves to guide them, a new savior was chosen. One who was special. Different. One who loved them enough, and was strong enough –unique enough- to subdue the great evils of this world."

"What happened? Why have I not seen this savior?" Sasuke was spellbound, watching the way Naruto's eyes shifted, seeing things only demons could see in the distance.

"The savior himself was given a test, as all saviors are. If he passed, he would be allowed to save mankind."

"And if he failed?" Sasuke asked in numb suspense.

"If he failed… if even this mighty warrior for the side of Good could be tempted to Evil, then what hope could there be for mankind? The battle of Good and Evil for dominance is fought on many levels, Sasuke. By many creatures."

Sasuke knew this, but was not diverted. "What of the savior? Did he fail?"

Naruto, who'd turned to look at Sasuke while describing the savior, now turned back to stare at the night. "I cannot say."

"Why?"

"It's not yet decided. But a glance at the world would indicate that this savior will be no more successful than the others."

"I do not believe that. Saviors have sinned in the past and were forgiven. Always forgiven."

"To a point, yes."

"There is hope still. I have faith in that."

Naruto looked at Sasuke again. Had the angel noticed his altered way of speaking yet? Probably not. Sasuke seemed to see only what he wanted to see, and that was just fine and dandy with Naruto. Oh yes. He smiled… then dropped his eyes to where their hands were still joined. "' _Faith means not wanting to know what is true.'_ A human by the name of Friedrich Nietzsche said that."

Ignorant of how to respond, Sasuke only stared. "Your touch does not pain me now," he said quietly after awhile. "Perhaps I really am meant to help you." Making a conscious decision, Sasuke tightened his hand in Naruto's grasp. More and more, he felt like Naruto was the only sure thing left to him. "I will come with you."

They left the bungalow behind.

-oOo-

" _For to tempt and to be tempted are things very nearly allied… whenever feeling has anything to do in the matter, no sooner is it excited than we have already gone vastly farther than we are aware of."_

_~ Catherine the Great_


	3. Chapter 3

 

" _Tis one thing to be tempted, another thing to fall." ~ William Shakespeare_

-oOo- _  
_

There were things Naruto showed Sasuke, evils that the angel had never known existed. Deeds far more subtle, and thus more potent, than mere catastrophes and natural disasters. Things even most humans were ignorant of. There were devout cults dedicated to cannibalism, to black magic, voodoo, and devil's bargains. The entities these practices necessitated contact with aided mankind's dissipation. Monsters and other horrors walked the earth as if it was their playground, and indeed it was. Sasuke watched babies being torn apart alive and consumed, and knew he'd barely scratched the surface of preventing evil.

These evil beings never failed to regard Sasuke with expressions the angel couldn't read. Whenever he came upon them in the company of Naruto, they would stop what they were doing and remain still, watching him. "Why do they look at me so?" he'd asked once.

"Part of it is that they've never seen your kind before," Naruto said.

"And the other part?"

"They wait."

"For what?"

"To see if you are friend or foe."

Sasuke had turned shocked, outraged eyes to Naruto. "I? A friend to evil? They are mad."

"Actually, there is sanity in evil. But you cannot fault their thinking, Sasuke. Are you not _my_ friend, after all?"

"But… you are different. It has been _established_ that you are _different_ ," Sasuke said forcefully.

Naruto had shrugged carelessly. "They know nothing different about me. You walk in the company of a demon. That is all they see."

And then he had joined in the killing, babies' blood splashing his skin until his body was as red as his merry, merry eyes were. Sasuke had been unable to stop him.

And it can be said that Sasuke tried. He tried very hard. But Naruto, he found, was exceptionally powerful.

Worse even than the mindless killings were the bloodless evils Naruto and his kind perpetrated against humanity. The ones that took but a whispered word in the ear of a country's leader or some other who held influence. The way most of the Middle East's current unrest was slowly escalating, spreading to neighboring countries, could be attributed to these whispers.

"Greed," Naruto had purred at Sasuke as they hovered over one such country. "And the greed for power…this simple human flaw is the cause of so much of what's wrong with the world today, Sasuke. And all I have to do is _suggest_ … sometimes not even that. You think mankind can be saved? They _want_ to be evil, I tell you, as no other species does."

Most of the time Sasuke tried reasoning with Naruto, reminding him of his desire to do good. On a few occasions, Naruto allowed himself to be thwarted from minor acts of evil, but he invariably followed up with a major act, then would let himself be consoled of his 'torment' by Sasuke. Sasuke would soothe and comfort, and admonish Naruto to keep fighting to be good, to keep resisting his evil nature. Each time, Naruto would promise to try harder, eyes wet with grief, but these promises rarely, if ever, came to fruition.

* * *

Sasuke was diligent. Often, he could not stop Naruto, but he _could_ stop other demons, and did. Once or twice Naruto even assisted him. The pleasure Sasuke derived from this was bittersweet, though, for Naruto would always commit some atrocity afterward. He said it galled him to do acts of good without doing evil afterward to rid himself of the pain of saving lives.

But then there had come that 'incident', and then Naruto and Sasuke both had needed to steer clear of demons.

-oOo-

Sasuke, filled with righteous indignation, had been in the process of thwarting not one, but several demons from bringing an airliner down. Unlike past endeavors of this nature, however, Sasuke had had difficulty. Naruto hung back and watched, as usual.

There were four demons, all considerably less powerful than Naruto. Sasuke had foiled similar numbers in the past. He spotted one at the plane's nose, one at its tail, and two at either wing. He put more power in his own wings, beating the air strongly to make it in time; already the plane was being sent into a nosedive, clutched between the cackling demons.

He'd collided with the one at the tail, his light blazing. The other three demons released the plane immediately on spotting Sasuke…and went straight for him.

Never had a demon dared to attack Sasuke. This unpleasant surprise was not what threw him off balance. It was discovering that his strength, previously limitless in the fight for good, was now inadequate to defend himself. He plummeted toward the earth, the demons hanging on to him with their burning hands.

Naruto watched with interest, hovering in the atmosphere. He'd never seen any demon get the best of ole Pure 'n' Pious.

"Naruto! Save the plane!"

Sasuke's voice, being angelic, carried despite his distance. Naruto obligingly flicked the spiraling plane a glance, but didn't move. Instead, he watched as the demons crashed into a snowy mountain peak. A cloud of snow billowed up, obscuring them, followed by a massive avalanche.

Naruto considered the small cluster of homes and shops in the tourist village at the base of the mountain, before slowly descending for a better view of the demons. He did not try to stop the snow from sweeping over the buildings.

Lightning, thunder, and flames, accompanied by wild pulses of light, sparked and flashed alarmingly. Snow tumbled from surrounding mountains at this colossal din, but only Naruto's ears were capable of hearing the demons' howls and Sasuke's invocations of the Lord. The plane crashed with a distant explosive roar somewhere behind Naruto as he finally penetrated the maelstrom of violence and saw what was going on.

Sasuke fought valiantly, but he was being ripped to shreds. Even as Naruto watched, though, Sasuke plunged his hand into one demon's chest and let loose one of those lethal blasts of his light. Naruto snapped his head aside, avoiding the glare that would have blinded even his powerful eyes temporarily. When he looked around again, the demon was nothing but a few fading sparks in the air. Gone, but not dead. It would reconstitute itself in Hell and remain there, recuperating.

The other three leapt at Sasuke anew, growling and snarling.

They weren't tailed demons like Naruto. Tailed demons were the most powerful demons in Hell, and as such there were only a few of them. Still, these were uncommonly strong. Sasuke was gasping, his attacks weakening. He managed to hold his own despite this, Naruto saw.

"Brother," one demon rasped at spotting Naruto. "Help us destroy this eyesore."

Sasuke tried to throw off their restraining hands. Naruto crept forward on all fours. When he reached them, he stopped. Bent and sniffed at Sasuke. Sat back. Scratched his balls. Then he looked up at the demons.

Sasuke heard mad, frightened howling. He felt warm heat wash over him, and then there was silence. He sat up with difficulty.

-oOo-

Naruto squatted on his haunches, flames dancing all around him. His claws disappeared into the rocky surface of the mountain. He sniffed in disdain at the fading sparks that were the only remains of the demons.

Sasuke wondered briefly why the demons' touch had hurt him, while Naruto's flames felt comfortably warm. Then he, too, frowned at the fading sparks. "They beat me," he stated.

"Yes."

"That's never happened. Why-"

"Let's go." Naruto seemed uneasy.

But they hadn't done more than stand to do this, before demons flashed into being all around them. More than a score of them, all with fangs and claws bared. Sasuke braced himself, already being healed by his light. Naruto, however, moved to crouch in front of him protectively.

This sight caused the demons to throw their heads back and bay at the sky. One demon, larger than the rest, stepped forward.

"So it's true," he said to Naruto. "You've crossed over."

_Word travels fast,_ Naruto thought. He knew this one. "Kiba-"

"And it seems your angel bitch is no longer able to stop us," Kiba spoke over Naruto. "I say we finish him here and now. Put an end to his cursed interference." He nodded to the ones who'd come with him.

The attack was swift and coordinated, but Naruto didn't budge. Three tails sprouted and grew from his lower back. They twined and lashed about him, occasionally obscuring his face. Unlike the first time he'd seen these tails, Sasuke felt a crushing weight of power emanate from Naruto. He stepped back, a hand up to shield his face.

Kiba and his pack faltered, before coming to a stop. They hesitated, then began backing away cautiously. Naruto partially advanced one step. "The angel is my problem. Mine. Fuck with him and you fuck with me."

There had been a silence laden with tension…but Kiba had vanished with a snarled curse. His pack had followed. Naruto turned to Sasuke then and curtly told him they were leaving the scene.

* * *

He'd left Sasuke soon afterward and hadn't shown himself for days. Sasuke was by then healed. He sat in the scorching desert that did not scorch him, and hung his head in deep thought.

Why was he weaker? And why did other demons now affect him, where Naruto couldn't? What was happening to him? When Naruto came back, he posed these questions to him.

Naruto hadn't answered immediately. He seemed relaxed, as if he'd eaten a meal recently, but demons didn't eat.

Under no circumstances would Naruto tell Sasuke that as long as he remained with a him, he would be unable to fight other demons. Hell, his own powers were waning, so it was only fair. "The demons will be after you in force now that you're unable to take them on en masse," he said instead. "You need to stay away from them. It's lucky they can't sense your location."

Sasuke looked startled. "Nonsense. I'm sure my powers will return to full strength shortly. After all, I'm healed now-"

"It isn't just you, Sasuke. I, too, am a target now. Defending angels is not something demons do." But to let them injure Sasuke too badly would have derailed his mission. Besides, if anyone got to have the satisfaction of finally ripping Sasuke's guts out, it would be him. No one else.

A crippling feeling of gratitude had Sasuke going to Naruto and putting a hand on his shoulder. He let his other hand rest on his arm. "That deed was not lost on me, Naruto. You have more good in you than you know." Sasuke's eyes were shining.

Naruto resisted, with difficulty, the urge to twist Sasuke's head off his shoulders. "We can't obstruct anymore demons. It's too risky, even with my protection." Then, when Sasuke only continued to smile at him, he said, "Stay here. I'll be back."

"Wait…where are you going?" His hands tightened on Naruto.

Naruto shrugged them off. "If you think I can sit around after doing what I did, you are severely mistaken." He prepared to leave.

"You're going to hurt someone, aren't you," Sasuke said in a low voice.

Naruto didn't bother to deny it. "You know my nature."

"But you just saved me."

"I'm evil, Sasuke."

"You promised you would try to overcome that."

Naruto ground his teeth together. "And I _am,_ but you can't expect me to-"

"I don't see how I can help you then," Sasuke interrupted. "I have seen your strength. I know you are strong enough to resist evil, and have myself witnessed your capacity for goodness. I fear I must fail my mission, Naruto." He'd turned away sadly. "I must leave you."

And that could not be allowed to happen, Naruto thought in rage. It would mean failing _his_ mission and he never failed at anything. He looked at Sasuke's broad back and indulged himself in an image of sinking his claws into the flesh and ripping it from his bones. He would then suck these tasty morsels down his throat before Sasuke's very eyes, chew his face from his skull, grind the same skull to powder in his hands-

"Naruto?" Sasuke scattered his thoughts. "Have you nothing to say?"

_I'm the strongest demon in Hell. I can do this._ Naruto let his head hang to hide the boiling hatred in his eyes. He knew his true self must be visible on his face. "I will try harder." Thankfully, the tremor in his voice was real, though not from remorse. "Just give me one last chance, Sasuke. I won't disappoint you again. I swear it."

"You'll stay with me?" Sasuke pressed. "Without going off on your own?"

"…Yes."

Such was the effort of forcing these words out and meaning them, that Naruto's fists were clenched by his sides. His claws dug deeply into his flesh so that blood dripped profusely. Sasuke went to him and lifted his bowed head. Naruto's red eyes seemed redder than usual, the fangs longer. He took a moment to enjoy the heat of touching Naruto's face before saying, "All right. One more chance."

And so they kept to themselves, the only company each had. Time passed.

* * *

Sometimes, with nothing to do, they walked idly through the dimensions of reality, untouched by atmospheres that would have killed mortals. Sometimes they walked the Earth. Sasuke would sing hymns, or praise Him endlessly, and Naruto would wish he and Sasuke were both dead. Sasuke would speak at length on miracles, then invite Naruto to speak, but Naruto was never able to. He would simply stare at Sasuke, and feel his demonic power decline drop by drop, day by day. His frustration, hatred, and sense of injustice were such now that it had become a point of issue to control himself; if nothing else, he would prove to himself that he was strong enough to come out of this nightmare standing.

Once, he and Sasuke were walking through a peaceful forest in Europe. Sasuke walked ahead of him, his hands idly resting on the dark, fissured bark of tree trunks as he passed them. Periodically, a shaft of sunlight would slant through the distant treetops far above them and strike Sasuke in such a way that his wings were visible. They appeared thin as gossamer, only vaguely suggested. Unless Sasuke willed it, they were invisible in most circumstances.

Naruto, mesmerized, continued to follow Sasuke absently. He found himself touching the same trees Sasuke touched, placing his feet exactly where Sasuke placed his. Those wings caught faint glittering snatches of light so that Sasuke's back seemed to shimmer with their unseen presence. Sasuke turned a corner sharply, slipping into a forest in an alternate dimension. During the brief time Sasuke was between realities, the wings were visible in their entirety, so white they were painful to look at. Naruto followed.

-oOo-

This new forest's trees stretched up to the undulating sky. The boles were wide and smooth, and vibrating with life. What world they were on, in what galaxy, Naruto had no idea, but Sasuke frequently said he liked to visit evidence of His power and majesty, to see His many creations.

The leaves that carpeted this forest floor were large, velvety things, warm from the multiple suns that hung in the sky. They were gray, but the leaves still on the high trees were a deep midnight blue. Sasuke's feet whispered on the fallen gray leaves as he walked slowly forward. He glanced back at Naruto with a small, inviting smile.

* * *

Sasuke consciously led him deeper into this new forest. It was his hope that Naruto would be touched by the power of his Lord, and open his heart to more goodness.

Naruto did follow him, but he did not look at the beauty around him. He only saw the beauty before him. His eyes remained on Sasuke. He followed meekly, as if pulled without his knowledge, and Sasuke found himself glancing back often; Naruto's expression was curious, a small frown between his brows.

They wove between the trees, waded across pools of sunlight, and stirred the gray leaves around their feet. When Sasuke looked back again, he realized Naruto was almost stalking him. A playful feeling of fun suffused him. He sped up a little.

Naruto responded accordingly, still with that serious and curious look on his face.

Sasuke walked faster. He jogged, then trotted, and then, with a last backward glance, broke into a run. A loud laugh escaped him.

Naruto had felt the strangest pull of raw longing from Sasuke. Each coquettish backward glance, every half smile that accompanied the glances, had been a hook in him that dragged him forward despite his inarticulate misgivings. The faster Sasuke moved, the sharper the pull, until when Sasuke began running, he found himself on all fours, galloping hard in pursuit.

The air was undoubtedly different from Earth's, but Naruto felt the thickened quality of it, one that made him feel as if he were running through syrup, was strictly a product of his heightened senses. He felt as if he were floating along the ground; Sasuke seemed to glide just out of reach. His claws tore up the springy soil between the trees as he wove deftly between them. Sasuke was still ahead but drawing closer. Naruto growled.

Sasuke felt that growl shiver through him, rattling the trees with their volume, and pushed himself to greater speed. His exhilaration at being chased by Naruto had excitement racing through him. His wings sprouted from his back and fluttered in such a way as to give him even more speed without lifting him into the air. He used them for balance whenever he made a sharp turn. He could feel the ground shuddering beneath Naruto's footfalls. The demon's heat drew steadily closer, and another enthusiastic laugh from Sasuke rang through the otherwise silent forest.

Naruto grunted as he sprang at Sasuke's back. His leap propelled them into the air, where Sasuke's wings briefly supported them, before they came back down with a crash against one of the wide trees. They slid down the trunk, then stood that way. Naruto pressed himself against Sasuke, and Sasuke was suddenly aware of several things.

Naruto's hand was at his throat, holding him to the tree. His own hands were on Naruto's chest, where they'd come up at their violent landing. His wings were stretched high to either side of him, manifested, yet this did not seem to bother Naruto, as it had at their first meeting. And Naruto's hand on his throat was more than warm, more than pleasant, almost a caress…

There was a sudden feeling of heaviness in Sasuke's body. He felt fullness and heat in an area he never had before. Naruto seemed to sense this change in him. Those crimson eyes, previously staring into his own, dropped. Sasuke's eyes dropped as well, down the front of his robes to where he felt so odd.

It was a moment before he understood what had happened. When he slowly lifted his head, it was to find Naruto searching his eyes once more.

Angels did not have reproductive organs…unless in possession of the will and disposition to use them, apparently.

This knowledge worked itself through Naruto as he stepped closer. His hand tightened imperceptibly around Sasuke's throat. Sasuke's wings began slowly closing around Naruto as midnight leaves drifted down from where they'd been torn loose by their earlier crash.

The tip of one wing brushed Naruto's back, and he abruptly came to his senses. He sprang away from Sasuke, stung at what had happened, at what had _almost_ happened. His eyes were wide with consternation. He turned and was gone in a flash of flames. His whining yip of fright was a an echo around the forest.

* * *

During the length of time that followed, Naruto realized a startling thing: The angel loved him.

It was not the wild, passionate love that humans killed for, or were in turn killed by. Instead, it was a steady, constant, unyielding sort of love. Strong. It was in every opportunity Sasuke took to be close enough to feel his hellish heat, and the way he followed Naruto wherever he wished to go. Their touches, the fond strokes of hand on arm or face, these had become painful again, in a different way.

Demons did not love. It was a thing of Heaven, brought down to Earth by Adam and there corrupted by his many sons and daughters. Love now was an instrument of evil and great pain. The love Sasuke bore him was love as it was meant to be: full of forgiveness and acceptance and purity.

Naruto thought he must surely die.

Perishing, even by His hand, would be preferable to being the recipient of such an emotion. He thought Sasuke was beautiful, but then all angels were. And he'd mockingly said suggestive things to Sasuke at their first meeting, but that had been force of habit. Being in his presence was still draining, still oddly pleasurable, but none of that meant love. He hated Sasuke, hated everything the angel stood for. Even if his touch _was_ stimulating.

He stared at Sasuke where they reclined and actively contemplated whether or not he had the strength to kill an angel. He would deliberately fail his mission if it meant he could tear Sasuke apart.

Sasuke looked back at him, misinterpreting the hooded, red gaze that was fixed to his face. "You have not done evil in all this time. Perhaps my presence is having the desired effect?" The forest was never mentioned, and never visited again.

"The urge is there. In fact, I feel it strongly just now."

"But you can overcome your urges, if you want to. You have proven that."

Overcome? Naruto did not think he'd ever suffered worse torture than he did now; his urges, his very nature, were suppressed to the point where if he were not fearful of the consequences, he would burn all humanity to ash. He needed for this mission to end, yet was unable to see a way to go about accomplishing the final stage. "Your presence is the cause. As long as you are with me, I am able to set evil aside."

"I've noticed," Sasuke smiled. "You've changed. Your language is better and your smell is gone."

Naruto consciously spoke as he did now, but to his knowledge, he was unable to alter his smell, just as the angel was unable to alter his. He sniffed for good measure, but no. Sasuke still reeked of goodness. "Do you love me, Sasuke?"

He was unashamed. "Yes."

"Why?" Naruto asked curiously.

"You are like me. And you try so hard to be good. It is a noble effort." He turned to lay on his back. They were both atop Silbury Hill. "If you only came with me to avert some of the evil being done in the world I'm sure the process of your reformation would go faster."

"I told you, the demons will slaughter you. Both of us."

"They can't kill us."

"They can come close. Besides, being around evil will only make me relapse to my former ways. And if you leave me to fight evil on your own, even discounting the demons, I will be tempted to-"

"Yes. I know. All right," Sasuke sighed. Then, perhaps remembering things he shouldn't, he turned and lay directly against Naruto's body.

Naruto jumped immediately. He landed some distance away, on the far side of the summit. "What are you doing?"

Sasuke eyed the crouched, growling figure of his companion with an open expression. "I only sought to embrace you. Your body feels good next to mine. Was it painful to you?"

Naruto was silent and still, watching as Sasuke drew closer to him. He was nearing his limit. He would end his mission for sure… or kill them both. At this point, either would be acceptable to him. He straightened from his crouch.

The embrace had not been any more painful than their past touches, but then Naruto had not let it continue long enough for it to become so. He'd felt Sasuke's love, and _that_ had been painful. Worse than their physical contact by far.

Sasuke reached him. Raised a hand to lay against Naruto's neck. "Do _you_ love me, Naruto?"

"Demons do not love."

"Nor do they commit acts of good. But you do one, so it follows that you may be capable of the other, yes?"

_If angels could bleed, I would feast on your blood._ But sacrifices had to be made. "Perhaps."

Sasuke let loose a grin that made his inner light pulse brightly. "Then I believe I have found the means to save you from yourself: If you can know love, then you will no longer be tempted to do evil. My mission on Earth would be complete."

"And you would return to Heaven? What would become of me at that point?"

"We would enter Heaven together," Sasuke said simply. "You will have been saved. Where else would you go?"

Where indeed. "There is a flaw to your reasoning. Love is neither voluntary nor controlled. How do you propose I set about learning it if I cannot feel it to begin with?"

"By letting me love you."

"Love is not infectious in such a manner."

Sasuke smiled knowingly. "You do not know the true nature of love. It can transform anything." He held out his hand.

Naruto did not take it, suddenly past all endurance. "You ask too much of me. Is it not enough that I shun my fellow demons and the acts that call to me? That I remain at your side, when your very presence is enough to scar me for eternity? Now you would ask me to _allow_ you to-"

Sasuke had the grace to blush. "I misspoke, perhaps, but I believe you misunderstand me. What is it you think I'm asking of you?"

"You would know me in a carnal sense. Correct?" he asked warily. He wished to fuck they'd never gone to that forest.

"I-" Sasuke's eyes went wide. Know a demon in a carnal sense? In a _carnal-_ But… that… just… what… _Carnal._ Images of the practices humans carried out in private throughout their existence played themselves across Sasuke's stunned mind. Then he thought of the forest, of that strange feeling of fullness…of glancing down to find his robes swelled over… but no. No. To be carnal. With a demon. That… The thought had never occurred to him. Now that it had… "No," he managed faintly. "That is not what I was asking."

Naruto could very well see now that it wasn't. Sasuke's face held a comical mixture of surprise, dismay and shock. Which was perplexing. Hadn't Sasuke had this thought in the forest? If not, then what had brought on his arousal? He'd noted later that Sasuke was back to normal, but still. He wished he could read the angel's mind, as he could do with humans. The way Sasuke turned his head aside now was troubling. "What did you mean then?"

"It is nothing," Sasuke said to his lap. "I apologize for offending you. We will continue as we have been." He fiddled with his hands in a most uncharacteristic manner for several moments, keeping his face averted. "Naruto, will you excuse me? I will be back soon."

-oOo-

He vanished. Just like that. Naruto stared at the space Sasuke had occupied. He tried to feel relieved, but couldn't quite manage it.

Okay, the blighter had feelings for him, but Sasuke couldn't _possibly_ have been serious about getting it on with a demon? Shit, he was down for killing, maiming, and torture. That was all fun. But sex with an angel? An _angel_ of all creatures? That was just hardcore, even for him. Hence his disappearing act in the forest. He had his limits, damnit. Which was interesting, when he thought about it. Naruto would not have said there was a limit to anything he'd do. But that… mating with an angel…

No. Just no.

Touching him was bad enough, but to _join_ with a being of light in such a way… well it would probably kill him. Or worse, alter him in some irrevocable way. He'd be a leper amongst his own kind, if he wasn't already.

But the concept was… well, it was just so perverse. So… _deviant._ Naruto tentatively allowed his thoughts to rest on the idea for a few tense moments. Surely such a thing must be the very height of forbidden, he thought giddily. And forbidden things were, without a doubt, the best fun to be had. He strained himself, but could not come up with an instance in the history of creation where a demon and angel had ever done such a thing. With each other. There were countless tales of demons mating with mortals, but demons and angels… _together…_

There was a moment, just a moment (albeit one that lasted an eternity for him) where his power pulsed strongly in him in longing and… and something he couldn't put a name to. Whatever it was, it shortened his breath, made his hackles stand up. Before his mind rebelled entirely, he glimpsed something, a truth that _had_ to be impossible.

Naruto abruptly shuddered hard, suddenly good and terrified by his line of thinking. Anger followed soon after, and he let it wash away that one glimpse into himself. _All right. Time to do something drastic before I end up committing suicide,_ he thought wrathfully. _I can't take this anymore._

But no. He had a mission, and he had to stick with it.

He looked around at the empty countryside. He could sense Sasuke off by himself far away. That left him feeling kind of strange. Why had he run off? Had he found the thought of sex with a demon just as disturbing? He hadn't seemed outraged, as Naruto had felt. He'd seemed more embarrassed than anything else. He sensed clearly that the angel wanted to be alone. If Naruto went to him, it might push him away, and they were at a delicate stage right now. Naruto had victory almost within his grasp. He couldn't risk fucking it up.

Regardless, he did not like this separation. He'd spent quite a bit of uninterrupted time with the angel now. Sasuke had warmed right up to him, always smiling and touching him, and absorbed in anything Naruto had to say. Even when he'd been doing his worst, Sasuke had always forgiven him. _Why had he run off?_ He missed-

Naruto froze. He did not think that just now. No. No. He didn't mi-

But he couldn't even think the word.

Moving slowly, carefully, as if a sudden movement would surprise the word into his thoughts again, Naruto stood up. He quivered there a moment, vacillating between his mission and his sanity, before doing the selfish thing and choosing himself. As any proper demon would.

* * *

There was a particular pack of demons Naruto sometimes ran with. Strong mothers like himself. The tailed demons of which there were so few. He hadn't seen them since his forced hiatus with that freak of piety, but he took a moment to sense them now. They were down in Hell, in one of the lower pits. He materialized in their midst and felt an immediate sense of relief at these familiar environs. His relief was short-lived.

"Well, well, well," Gaara drawled. "If it isn't the poster child for betrayal himself."

"Save any angels lately?" 'Bee rumbled caustically.

Naruto looked around at the hostile faces in some surprise. "Guys, you do realize what I'm doing now is just an assignment?"

Utakata shifted lazily against the red, rocky surface of the pit. He was arguably the most handsome one present, and was well aware of this. "The Naruto I know would have found a way without becoming some angel's bitch. There's talk."

Naruto stood to his full height and let his tails show in an angry display of warning. "What talk?" he bit out.

"That you've been turned," Yagura supplied. "I have to say, the talk seems true. You reek of your feelings."

"My-" Naruto growled low in his throat, as flames sprung up around him. He was immediately on the defensive. "How _dare_ you imply that I could be _capable-_ It's the angel's stench that's on me," he hissed. "You know nothing about what I'm going through with that creature. Let me hear you suggest I have feelings again, and I'll-"

Gaara sauntered over, just as naked, and just as prepared for a fight; his one huge tail lashed the sulfuric air in agitation. It was at odds with his smoothly complacent voice. "Naruto," he chided softly. "You forget you can't bullshit a demon. Do you think we can't tell the difference between the angel's filth and your own? It's all over you, whether you want to admit it or not. And I say… that makes you fair game." He let one claw caress Naruto's full bottom lip. He licked his own lips in turn at the thought of biting into that succulent flesh. "What do _you_ think?"

Naruto realized they were serious… and that, strong as he was, he couldn't take on this particular group alone. Well, maybe he could, but chancing it would not be a good idea. He was surrounded, he saw, and the circle was slowly closing.

He knew what was really going on. He was the Master's favorite, the one chosen for this all important mission. He was aware that there wasn't a corner of Hell that hadn't heard of his assignment by now. And he'd been seen in the company of Sasuke often enough… his good deeds with the angel were also probably well-known, as well as his saving Sasuke. Envy, plain and simple. Here was a golden opportunity to bring the powerful Naruto down, and the demons would say anything to justify it. Including the ludicrous, and impossible notion that he had _feelings_ , when every demon knew that feeling love was impossible to their kind.

Those few moments on Silbury Hill, when he'd been terrified of… well, when certain lies and delusion had tried to rape his mind, came back to Naruto. He purposefully slammed a mental door on them and forced himself to behave casually. "I'll prove it to you," he said simply. He just managed to keep from saying please, but he put a note of deference in his voice; they meant to rip him apart where he stood. "Give me a chance to prove myself. If you're not convinced when I'm done then you can do what you want." He didn't bother mentioning their Master. If he'd had a problem with Naruto being threatened, these bastards would never have done so. He was in trouble, and they all knew it. It would have been better if he'd stayed away, he realized now. At least until his mission was complete.

The other demons glanced at each other, before looking back at Naruto. "Fine," Gaara smiled. It was a smile full of malice and corruption. "We have the perfect target."

* * *

Sasuke contemplated the rolling depths of the Pacific from the lonely peak of the uncharted island he was standing on. He was somewhere near the South Pole, a region not many humans passed by. He stood and lost himself in the interminable motion of the waves, in the ceaseless sound of their passage, and in his own disquieting thoughts.

There had been a leap of disastrously powerful interest on his part at the suggestion of mating. Such a thing could never occur, of course, not _ever,_ but his sudden wayward contemplation of the thought had driven him from Naruto's side. It was the thing that had him staring blindly through the water to the land formations of the ocean bed.

Though the feeling was entirely new to him, he knew it for what it was: he desired Naruto. Just as he had in the forest. The only difference was now he knew what it was, while back then he'd been unaware. He'd only known that Naruto's proximity, his stare, the chase, and the silent forest had made him feel electrically alive.

He was not used to any emotion, save heavenly love. The turbulent, sometimes fierce things he felt when in the demon's presence went against everything he stood for. Angels represented order, control, grace, and the purity of love. The things Naruto made him feel… So far he'd done a good job of hiding his true feelings, or so he thought. It helped that Naruto as yet could not interpret love. But Sasuke was afraid. There was just so much happening that shouldn't be happening… chief among them his loving Naruto at all. He could not begin to list all the ways that was wrong, just as he could. Not. Stop.

What _had_ he meant on the hilltop with Naruto? He wasn't even sure. He was sure of nothing anymore, where once he'd been certain of most things. He was beset and confused, and adrift on his own. His only tether was Naruto. The demon was sure of everything, and wanted to be reformed. He tried so hard, even though Sasuke could see the effort it cost him. With this thought, his love for the demon filled him. It was the only haven in his storm of confusion, and he held to it tightly.

He looked up at last and felt the peace he'd been searching for settle in him once more. He closed his eyes, enjoying the feel.

_Naruto_ , he thought.

* * *

Angels could not sense specific demons, but as he'd suspected, his love enabled certain exceptions. He was taken directly to Naruto's side.

He wasn't on the hilltop. Sasuke was briefly distracted by the noise and confusion around him, before realizing he was seeing nine extremely powerful demons lay waste to what was known as a holy site to many. He squinted, and saw Naruto right in the thick of it.

The structure was completely demolished. There was nothing Sasuke could do to save it, but that wasn't why he remained still in the face of the continued destruction. Nor was it intimidation at being outnumbered. It was Naruto.

Even as Sasuke watched, Naruto leveled another blow at the already pulverized building. He alone was responsible for that. The demons around him flung debris at the fleeing people, or else picked the people up bodily and hurled them to their deaths. He saw people ripped apart, dismembered, vivisected and decapitated. Naruto, once done with the building, leaped right in and joined his companions. His howl of delight and mad enjoyment were heartfelt. Sincere.

A dull ache settled in Sasuke as he watched.

-oOo-

Utakata nudged Gaara. "Look, it's the wife."

One by one, the demons stopped what they were doing to stare at Sasuke until Naruto finally became aware that he was the only demon still yelling. He took a moment to crush one last woman's head, before scooping out the brain within. He licked these soft remains from his hand with relish as he turned at last to see what had everyone's attention.

Sasuke.

There was fire, smoke, screams from the dying, but Naruto heard and saw none of that. In that initial moment, with his gore-splattered hand still to his mouth, he felt a spurt of genuine gladness that Sasuke had returned. He smiled at seeing him.

Sasuke saw only this further pleasure at the enactment of evil, and began backing away.

Naruto's smile faltered, then left entirely when he got a good look at Sasuke's face. He looked around at where he was, at what he'd done, and at the hand he finally pulled away from his mouth. How he must look to Sasuke dawned on him, and he cursed inwardly. He did not see his companions' narrowed eyes of contempt at witnessing this lapse.

He'd been caught, Naruto reasoned, but Sasuke was an angel. That meant forgiveness and all that crap. His mission was still safe, he told himself as he quickly went to Sasuke. Sasuke was now shaking his head slowly from side to side, while continuing to back away.

"Sasuke, I can explain," he rushed to say when he'd reached him. "It was an accident, I-"

Sasuke pointedly looked at the bloody hands reaching for him, aware –as Naruto was not- of the way the demons bristled angrily at Naruto's words. "Accident? I have never seen you more joyful. Tell me, for I see now that I have been foolish indeed… was everything you told me a lie?"

Naruto fell back on behavior that had worked against Sasuke in the past. He contrived a look of remorse and a tremulous voice. "No! You know how confused-"

"Stop," Sasuke thundered in a voice full of fury, "insulting my intelligence. There was no confusion in what I just saw. On the contrary, I have never seen such conviction from you. This-" Sasuke gestured to the chaos behind Naruto with his chin. "This is where you live, what you believe in. You believe in evil, Naruto. You _are_ evil, completely, and you nearly dragged me down with you. How could I have ever believed you wanted to change? How could I have _loved_ you?"

There were gasps from the listening demons. Naruto only saw and heard one thing: his mission was circling the drain. He could not let that happen. "Sasuke-"

"Thy tongue is not worthy to lick my heel," Sasuke said in High Speech. He turned to go, but Naruto grabbed his arm.

There was a _boom_ and a dazzling flash that sent Naruto flying backward. He landed some distance away in a sprawl. Sasuke turned to look down at him with a sneer of disdain.

Naruto scrambled back up, holding his burned hand. He didn't know what he was going to say, only that there was nothing contrived about what he was feeling. He said in shock, "You… won't forgive me? I thought angels forgave transgressors?"

Sasuke looked down at the bloody handprint on his arm. He let his light shine through his skin and cleanse the mark away, before turning cold eyes to Naruto. "You are mistaken. Angels are not the ones with infinite mercy and forgiveness. And I see no reason to forgive what was deliberately and maliciously done."

Naruto searched the blazing black eyes for some semblance of the creature who'd confessed to loving him, who'd taken any opportunity to touch him. "But I've done this before and you always forgave me. What makes now any different? _You always forgive me._ You can't give up on me now, Sasuke. Please. I'm sorry I slipped, but I told you that if you left me alone I'd fall. I _told_ you. Don't be angry at me for not being able to hang on without you."

This last made the demons look at each other in disbelief and loathing. Even if the angel could not see Naruto's true feelings, they could. They began closing in.

Sasuke wavered, feeling his love for Naruto come sweeping back. But Naruto's face was covered in blood. He'd been in his element at doing what he'd done. He could not risk forgiving him again. Instead, he said in a sad voice, "Do you realize that this place you destroyed is sacred to Muslims, Christians and Jews alike, the three largest religions? That you have likely sparked a war that will involve every major nation on this world?" He let his anger seep away into regret. "I could have saved you," he sighed. "But you have to _want_ to be saved. That's what makes this time different, Naruto. This goes beyond anything you've done previously." Then he turned away and was gone.

* * *

Naruto followed him, intent on saying whatever he had to in order to salvage his assignment. World War III was great and all, a real plus, but that was small potatoes in comparison to his mission. He pulled up short at seeing Sasuke take up a position around that kid and some boys with the kid.

Konohamaru. Even from where he was, Naruto could feel Sasuke's love for the boy, and the comfort he took in being back at his side.

This, Naruto thought in rage, this was what Sasuke had chosen over the redemption of a demon? This meat sack? He'd willingly given up the chance of a lifetime to play nursemaid to a mortal? The injustice of it didn't even compute. A cacophony of irrational thoughts and emotions rioted in Naruto's mind, things he was not strictly familiar with. He saw Sasuke stare lovingly at the boy who'd grown, and knew sick jealousy.

He was not going to fail his mission. He never failed. Ever. And no insignificant human was going to take his place in Sasuke's attentions, either. Of that he would make _very_ sure.

He continued to watch.

-oOo-

" _Whether we fall by ambition, blood, or lust,_

_Like diamonds we are cut with our own dust."_

_~ John Webster_


	4. Chapter 4

 

" _The few wonders of the world only exist while there are those with the sight to see them." ~ Charles de Lint_

-oOo- _  
_

"Come on, Konohamaru, try it," one boy said. "It'll blow your mind, I promise."

"And if you really don't like it, you don't have to do it again," the second boy chimed in. He threw an arm around Konohamaru's shoulders. "But at least you would have tried it, right?"

The third boy stepped closer to Konohamaru. He was the one holding the actual heroin, the one doing the offering. The other two were on either side of Konohamaru, hugging him chummily while preventing him from running away. The third boy glanced behind himself now to make sure no one was entering the alley behind them, before leaning into Konohamaru's open, honest face. "One drag, that's it. Prove you ain't a pussy, and we'll leave. 'Kay?"

Konohamaru was a quiet, yet confident boy. He looked each boy in the eyes, before reaching out and taking the offering between two fingers. The boys smiled…then cursed in anger as Konohamaru dropped the roll of heroin on the pavement and crushed it under his heel. His slightly rundown sneaker ground the heroin firmly to a state unfit for consumption. He looked up at the third boy. "Like I said. No thanks." He pulled out of the other two boys' grasp and turned to leave the alley.

The three boys were not about to let that happen. They snatched Konohamaru back into the alley, making his school books drop in the process. They proceeded to show him the error of his ways. One of the boys dug a set of brass knuckles out of his back pocket and landed a blow to Konohamaru's temple, splitting the skin above his right eye.

Konohamaru knew some self-defense. He'd taken a year of Karate down at the YMCA, but he was outnumbered. He fought back bravely, though, and his greater strength and desperation swung the fight in his favor briefly.

The third boy brandished a knife.

Konohamaru saw it, and thought _'Oh God, help me'_ as his bowels turned to water.

-oOo-

Intermittently during his early years, he'd felt as if he wasn't alone. As if some large, benign presence was with him and his family. His parents had told him repeatedly that he was a miracle child. He and his parents were blessed, he knew that much, and though his parents weren't particularly religious, he himself strongly believed in the existence of God. He had often prayed and felt that the prayers were heard and that he was loved and cherished by more than his elderly mother and father.

Lately, he'd felt alone. His parents' health had taken a turn for the worse, and the bullies just seemed to pick on him more and more each year. He was only with these current boys he tentatively called friends in an effort to gain a little popularity at school, but if the price for their friendship was drugs, then the price was too high. At seeing the knife, he realized the error of his ways and prayed instinctively, though he hadn't felt the benevolent presence in many years.

Almost immediately, he felt that large presence come to his aid this time. Like a modern day miracle, he felt that he was protected, no longer alone. His soul fairly wept in gladness and recognition, and he put his faith and trust into the hands of his savior.

He rushed the third boy and managed to take control of the knife, though he sustained a nasty nick across his stomach in the process. Konohamaru stood facing the downed boys, breathing shakily, and dripping blood from various places. "Stay away from me from now on," he told them. His voice wasn't quite steady; he really was in pain.

The boys, for their part, looked up at Konohamaru, saw something behind him, and scrambled up to run away in fright. Konohamaru looked behind himself too, but could see nothing. Nor could he feel the presence now. For a moment, he thought there might have been a scent on the wind, one that teased at the edges of his memory, but he couldn't be sure. He threw the knife aside. It hurt to bend down and pick up his books, but he managed. He limped home, secretly pleased that he'd stood up to those boys. They were definitely off his friend list.

* * *

The demons, having witnessed the way Naruto sped after the angel, opted not to go after him. Instead, they retreated to Hell and decided to have a serious discussion.

There was a cozy pocket, right there in the heart of the hottest flames, where the screams and pleading of the tormented souls lent nice accompaniment. This was their nook, where they came to relax and recharge. They sat in a loose circle, looking to Gaara to begin. He was more or less their leader when it came to things like this.

Gaara sat in thought for several long moments. When he picked his head up, it was to fix each of the other seven with a grave stare.

"I can understand the Master allowing us to go at Naruto and risk derailing his mission further. The Master loves chaos. What worries me is the things we overheard that pustule Naruto saying. Things are worse than we thought."

"Much worse," Killerbee agreed. "I didn't quite believe he had feelings…or that if he did, he didn't know about them. But he spoke to that heavenly disease from…from his…urg." 'Bee turned away with a hand to his mouth, unable to go on.

Fuu, known to have extremely limited bullshit tolerance, sucked her teeth in disgust. "Oh, just say it, you big hulking coward. He spoke from the heart." Her lips twisted in repugnance at uttering the words, and her eyes, the same color as the flames, were very grim. The rest of the circle shuddered visibly. They let the soothing flames they sat in calm their horrified sensibilities. After a moment, Gaara went on.

"His feelings are real. And serious. Do you know how I know?" He got no answer, only stares. "That building Naruto destroyed. The angel was right, it is sacred. That's why we chose it. As such, don't you think we should have encountered some sort of resistance when we showed up there? Some sort of protection from on high?" He could see understanding beginning to set in at last, but Gaara kept speaking. "The place was open for our assault. Which means-"

"-that not only are Naruto's feelings real, they could be a real problem…on a cosmic scale," Utakata finished in a hushed voice.

'Bee looked around at them all. "If that's the case, then he's being tested, too. And not just by the Master."

"But," Yugito ventured into the ensuing silence. "Naruto…he's the sharpest, the strongest, the most ruthless one of us all. Doesn't he see what's happened to him? What's still happening?"

Gaara shook his head sagely. "No. Love is blind," he intoned with importance. There wasn't one of them who didn't flinch at the word. He let this awfulness marinate a minute. Then he said, "And make no mistake, these rash actions of his, chasing after the angel, seeking his forgiveness…he's definitely feeling love. He might not admit it, but his actions speak louder than words. And he stinks of it."

"Then his mission has already failed? Failed in truth?" 'Bee asked.

"I don't know. If even the Higher Ups are noticing Naruto's transformation, I must assume it's a possibility." Then, because he'd always secretly admired Naruto, and was loathe to see him felled by such a devious method, Gaara added, "We will ask the Master for permission to intervene. We'll present our proof that this mission is killing our brother and request it be removed, or else assigned to all of us that we may share the burden of that angel-freak. What say you all?"

The murmurs of assent were unanimous.

* * *

Sasuke smiled approvingly at the way the white-haired couple greeted their only child when Konohamaru walked in the bungalow door. They exclaimed in distress, weeping at the bruised and bloody state their son was in. Konohamaru tried to reassure them that he was all right, but his father promptly got his car keys and announced that they were taking him to the emergency room. His mother nodded tearfully, going to get her cardigan.

Konohamaru sighed in resignation. Then he handed his father his cane, and dutifully got into the backseat of their ancient Chevy station wagon. It would be a long ride; his father's eyesight wasn't what it used to be, so he drove at a snail's pace. He wasn't even strictly supposed to drive anymore. Konohamaru was still a year away from being legally able to apply for his license, though he did know how to drive already. He buckled his seat belt and settled down, assuring his mother yet again that he was fine.

-oOo-

Konohamaru slid off the examining table, careful not to wince. As long as he projected an air of being okay his parents wouldn't worry too much. But those stitches had hurt worse than the brass knuckles had; he knew this hospital visit would be cheaper without the anesthetic, and so had bravely opted to have his stitches without it. He gingerly felt the bandage on his forehead as the doctor went on and on about how brave and strong he was.

"You're lucky to have such a fine son," she told the beaming parents.

But Konohamaru could see how even the brief ride to the hospital and the shock of seeing him hurt had put a strain on them. They crept haltingly out to the parking lot, and his father's hand shook as he tried to unlock their station wagon. "Need to get one of those newer models with a remote controlled thingie to open the door," he joked tiredly. The keys fell to the pavement.

Konohamaru closed his eyes to hold back his tears; his father hesitated to bend and pick up the keys because it would hurt his back for days afterward. The man was past seventy. He stooped to pluck the keys off the ground and held them, looking steadily at his parents. "Dad, why don't you let me drive tonight?"

"Oh, I don't know," his mother quavered from the other side of the car. "You're still underage, no license…what if the cops stopped us? Those tickets are pretty high…"

"I'll stay under the speed limit and keep to the back roads," Konohamaru promised.

His dad leaned heavily on his cane. "You shouldn't have to do that, son. We're supposed to take care of you, not the other way around."

"And you have," Konohamaru insisted, stepping closer. "Let me take care of you guys for a change. It's only ten miles to the house. We'll be there before you know it. Please?"

It was a mark of how tired they really were when they gave in without much further complaint. Konohamaru helped them into their seats before sliding behind the wheel. He saw the old clock on the dash read 11:01, nearly midnight. He would put them directly to bed when he got them home, he decided.

-oOo-

He was extra careful. He wasn't the kind of kid who ever got the urge to speed or run stop lights, but he was extra special careful. He went five miles below the posted speed limit, checked his mirrors often, and kept both hands firmly on the wheel. He pulled into their graveled drive smoothly, then switched off the engine. He rushed to help his father out of the back seat. His mother was already shuffling forward to unlock the house door.

They requested tea, and Konohamaru bustled around their shabby but spotless kitchen making it. He also remembered to prepare his father's hot water bottle and take it in to him when he carried in the tray of tea. He gently stirred honey into his father's tea cup as he passed it to him. A thought had been turning itself over and over in his mind. "Um, Dad?"

His father sipped, leaned back against his pillow, and closed his eyes on a sigh. "What is it, son?"

"I was wondering if it would be all right if I went to the church tonight?"

"So late?" His mother tiredly set her cup on the bedside table. "It's a school night."

Yes, it was. But he'd had a close call today. Really close. He'd felt that large, benign presence for the first time in years and still felt it. He could almost reach out and touch it, it felt that close. He just wanted to give thanks. Besides, their church was very small and just down the block. "I'll only be gone twenty minutes. You know they stay open late. It's probably just old Father Jiraiya there, anyway. I just want to say a quick prayer."

Something had happened, his parents could see it. Something had shaken the boy. He probably hadn't hurt himself playing basketball, as he'd told them. The tiny church _was_ close by, though. And it was hard to deny their only child anything, especially when he was such a good boy. Never complained about not having the other things his friends had, or how his parents never took him to amusement parks, or how they couldn't afford to give him an allowance. He took such good care of them, and was so understanding.

"All right," his mother smiled. "But come back quickly."

"I will," Konohamaru promised as he kissed her frail cheek.

* * *

Sasuke considered following him, before opting to remain with the parents. The church was indeed close by, and blessed. It was close enough that Konohamaru would still be touched by his grace. It was unlikely that anything would happen, though. And the parents _were_ in poor health. He would remain near them.

-oOo-

When Konohamaru had shut the front door quietly behind himself, Sasuke sat down and absently stared at the sleeping elderly couple. His thoughts turned to Naruto.

His anger was gone. It had left swiftly to be replaced with a hole in his sense of self. He'd ignored this in favor of tending to the immediate problem facing Konohamaru, but now that he was no longer distracted he couldn't stop from dwelling on his last meeting with the demon.

He would not have believed it possible to miss the creature so much, not after witnessing what he had. And yet, he did miss him. He missed how much he was able to _feel_ in his presence. He missed the things he said, and the strange knowledge he had of all things mortal. There had been many a lengthy, riveting discussion between them, wherein Sasuke had listened in wonder.

Naruto had been his friend. His first and only. And he had loved him. Loved him still, Sasuke admitted with shame.

The couple stirred in their sleep, and Sasuke was recalled to his surroundings.

But he was here with Konohamaru now. He had loved the boy too, hadn't he? Yes, he had. He still did. He tried to tell himself that it was equal to the love he'd felt for the demon, that this place was where he belonged, not with Naruto. He did not belong with evil, even if he'd felt kindred to Naruto. He tried very hard to convince himself of this as the bedside clock ticked the minutes and seconds away.

* * *

The third boy walked into the dingy apartment housed in the projects that he shared with his older brother Mike. The small space was also home to the assorted ex-cons, dealers, and junkies Mike called friends. He tried to sneak past the room allotted to manufacturing without being noticed.

"Get yo' ass in here," his brother snapped.

He closed his eyes briefly, set his school bag on the floor, and detoured to the manufacturing room's doorway. "What."

Mike was a thin, jittery older teen with currently glassy eyes. He eyed his younger brother as he rapidly counted a wad of cash. "Where the fuck you been? School _been_ done finished."

"Out trying to sell your shit, where you think?"

"You sassing me, Mug?" Mug was the nickname Mike had given him in deference to his face. According to Mike, Mug was ugly enough to break mirrors.

Mike's eyes were not only glassy, but red. Mug re-thought the 'tude. "Just sayin'..."

"You handle your friend yet?"

"I tried, but-"

"But what? I done _tol'_ you I need sellers in his part of the 'hood."

Mug kept his mouth shut. High or not, his brother would smell a lie.

Mike eyed Mug as he flicked ash from his cigarette. "You's a pussy, you know that? He gi' you that shiner?"

Well, he couldn't deny it. Mug ducked his head, looked aside. "Said I tried, aight? Told you he'd be tough to crack." He didn't bother to bring up the sight he thought he'd seen in that alley.

Silence. Mike's friends eyed Mug with furtive glances as Mike himself dropped the wad of cash on the low table in front of him and stood up. He dragged deeply on his cig for a few seconds, staring at his younger brother. It seemed the tension in the room climbed proportionately to Mike sucking on the cigarette. When he at last exhaled a stream of bluish smoke from both nostrils, everyone there knew that Mug had pushed his brother too far.

Mug felt a sense of fatalism that was utterly commonplace for him during the hammer-like blows that landed so heavily on him. They were the extent of his brother's capacity to love. He knew Mike honestly thought he was giving him what was good for him. Having been raised on this particular brand of affection, Mug thought so too. He'd screwed up, so now he had to take his medicine. He didn't like it, but then what was there in life to like? The things you liked were the things that got taken away. Liking was for the weak.

-oOo-

Even so, Mike took it one step further tonight. He stood looking down at the silent heap that was his brother, head cocked as if listening to a voice no one heard but himself. He even nodded, as if the silent voice was real. "Take his ass out back," he said to no one in particular.

His friends looked at each other. "You fina open him up?"

Sucking the ashes on his cig down to his stained fingertips, Mike snorted heavily. "Naw. Show him what we do wit' pussies like him."

More glances exchanged. One of Mike's friends shook his head and backed away. "Hey yo Mike, man...I don't roll like that."

Mike pulled his gun from behind his back and shot the dude in the chest. The report was short and sharp, with a mild echo. The rest dropped down to the floor, calling for Mike to be cool.

Mike threw his cigarette stub at where Mug lay. "I _said_ to _take_ his ass out _back_ ," he shouted. He waved his gun. "Lessen' you want me to open y'all up like that punk ass there, y'all do as I goddamn _say_."

Mug was grabbed and hauled the fuck out of there. Mike stepped over his fallen comrade, looked at him, then sucked his teeth. "Now see, tha's a mess I ain't cleaning up. Punk ass bitch," he muttered to the empty room. He stepped to the window and peered around the grease-stained curtain by holding it aside with his gun.

* * *

"Yo, man, he looking out here," one of the guys dragging Mug panted.

"Get his pants down," another hissed.

Mug's jeans were pulled over his hips. And since Mike was still looking from the third floor window, another of them hastily unbuckled their own pants and stepped to Mug's ass.

-oOo-

Mike watched for a few minutes more. A glance down at the mouth of the passageway showed a bum and nothing more. Good. Sometimes cops patrolled through this 'hood and he didn't need that noise tonight. He let the curtain drop, going back to the table. He didn't even see the body on the floor now.

* * *

Naruto was deep in what could be called meditation, but was in fact nothing more than demonic concentration. Hence, he was aware the second his comrades materialized around him with faint hisses of flashing flame.

He'd chosen the barren tundra of Siberia to sit down and focus his power. He didn't bother to open his eyes when he sensed his friends. "Leave."

"Naruto." It was Gaara's voice. There was a cajoling note to it that was foreign to him, but it wasn't enough for Naruto's concentration to waver. "Naruto, we have to talk. You're in danger."

"From?" his voice was almost bored.

"From yourself. From your feelings, Naruto. We've spoken to the Master, and he agrees. He gave us permission to stop you. To bring you back. He says this mission might be too much for you alone. We can help, Naruto. Let us."

Naruto was a long time answering. His flames swirled around him, and all nine of his tails lashed in slow, lazy waves and arcs. His hands rested on his crossed knees.

"Naruto?" Utakata queried.

Naruto's eyes opened at last, and his power simmered down. His tails remained. "In the first place, I am not in danger of failing anything," he said calmly. "In the second place, I am done proving to you that I don't have feelings for some traitorous winged bitch from Heaven. You'd think the annihilation of a sacred site would be enough for you all, but apparently not. And lastly, you, none of you, are going to stop me from doing anything. Now…get the fuck out of my sight." Naruto stood in a fluid motion.

Gaara moved to stand in front of him. "You can't take us all on, Naruto."

"Careful, Gaara. You'll soon be guilty of _caring_ if you keep this up. Demons don't feel, remember?" Naruto shoved passed him.

Gaara shoved him back, and felt the others spread to surround Naruto. "No, we don't. But we won't let one of our own be taken out like this, either. Naruto, do you know what the Master will do to you if you fail?"

"I'm aware. And I'm not failing."

"You're not thinking straight!"

"Move."

"Forget the angel, Naruto. Leave him, or let us help you." Gaara was desperate.

Naruto met each stern pair of eyes. Something had scared them badly enough to warrant this un-demon-like display, but they were gravely mistaken about him. "Last chance. Move."

Gaara set his stance, and let his own power out now. "I'm afraid you leave us no choice."

* * *

"Hey."

Mug's eyelids twitched.

"Hey. Kid."

Mug could smell the piss they'd drenched him with. He could feel the blood running out of his ass, and he could hear the large cockroaches scuttling through the garbage cans they'd knocked over when they'd left him behind them.

"Kid, you ain't dead, not yet. Wake the fuck up."

"I am dead," Mug mumbled.

"Nah. You got some time. Good hour at least. Wanna make it count?"

Mug's consciousness was fading. He sensed frustration from whoever was talking to him.

"Dylan."

Dylan. That was his name, what his mama used to call him before she'd been shot in a convenience store hold up. No one had called him that since she'd died ten years ago. He opened his eyes at last, wanting to see who it was who knew that name.

The only thing that really registered with him was that the dude didn't look like anyone who ever came to this neighborhood. Hell, they didn't even come to this part of town, unless it was the po-po. Lifting his head slightly to view the blond hair, Mug had to conclude that this cracker wasn't the fuzz; the teeth that wide smile exposed were pointed just like a dog's.

Good. He was dreaming. His head fell back to the pavement with a thud he didn't even feel.

"Come on, don't wuss out on me now, you little shit. Let's have us some fun before you croak! I can't tell you how long its been since I had any real fun. Look, brought you a present and everything. See?"

The man or thing, whoever or whatever it was, gestured to the ground a few feet away, where his brother's shotgun lay. Mug felt a wet smile spread across his face. "Not s'pposed to...to touch Bessie..." His eyes were rolling back.

A stinging slap that burned his face brought him round. Red eyes filled his vision and a voice that sounded nothing like a human's caressed his ears, his senses. "Mike's a bit too controlling if you ask me," this voice said. Gone was the street slang, the cussing. This voice, and the language it used, were somehow beautiful. Ancient. It soothed away all Mug's pain, and left him feeling more alert. "I think it would be best if we did the world a favor and put him out of his misery. Don't you?"

"His misery," Mug said. He found himself standing, cradling the shotgun.

"Yesss," his new friend hissed. "His misery. You'd be an angel of mercy."

"An angel." Another thing his mother used to call him. Her little angel.

"Yes, an angel," the voice growled. Then it was sweet and beguiling again, even sounding a little like his mother. "You can see what a tortured soul your brother is, can't you? I always meant for my boys to take care of each other."

Mug glanced around and finally turned. His mother _was_ there. Her face, the sight of it, hit him like a truck. "Mama?"

"Your brother done hurt you," she said, coming to touch his cheek. "Show him some mercy, Dylan. My angel. Show him mercy and then...then everything will be all right, Sugar. You might even get a lil' mercy yourself."

"From God? Are you with Him, Mama?"

His mother's comforting smile faltered, was hitched back into place with an effort. "I's where I need to be. You go on and do like I tol' you now. You show your brother mercy. Show him all the mercy he ain't showed you."

Mug looked down at the shiny black bore of the shotgun. "I will, Mama."

* * *

Mike's friends sat around, avoiding each other's eyes. Mike himself was in the process of snoring, his eyes half open. He was slumped in his chair, his red ball cap pushed back on his braids.

No one saw or heard the bleeding, nearly senseless boy come shuffling to the doorway. They heard the shotgun being cocked, looked, and heard clearly: "I'm an Angel of Mercy." Then they were diving for cover or reaching for their own guns.

The blasts were deafening. Mike snapped awake while rolling to the floor, his body already reacting before sleep had completely left him. He saw who it was, saw what was going down, that his boys _were_ down, and reached for his gun.

It wasn't shoved down the waistband of his jeans anymore.

-oOo-

Mug walked toward him with only his shirt on. His thin, scabbed legs were bare. Mike could see blood running in thin streamers down his thighs. It dripped on the floor, but the thing that held his attention was Bessie in his face. Bessie had been stowed under his bed the last he knew. Money, drugs, and smoke sifted around the room from the blasts that still had his ears ringing. He held up a shaking hand. "Mug…"

"Wha's my name?"

Mike didn't take his eyes off his brother's. "'Choo talkin' 'bout? Tha's your name, fool."

Mug cocked the shotgun.

"Aight, aight!" Mike blabbed hastily. "Just chill, man! We needs to be thinking about dippin', yo. Po-po'll be here an' we-"

Mug squeezed the trigger, blasting a hole in the ceiling. Plaster filtered down on his head, that he took no notice of.

Mike yelled, waving his hands over his head as he threw himself to the floor again. "Stop, stop! Come on, man! You's my brother, man, you can't do this!"

"You wan' mercy?"

Mike sobbed on the floor. "Yeah. A lil' mercy, man. Just-"

Mug watched his brother's body jerk through the impact of being shot. Semi-automatic that Bessie was, Mike's body flopped like a fish.

* * *

While Mug was shooting his brother, and receiving more orders, Naruto stood outside the bungalow and observed Sasuke through a gap in the curtains.

Naruto wondered if his master knew what he'd asked of him when he'd assigned him to this mission. Did he know that simply being around the angel weakened him? The pain of his presence not withstanding, everything about the angel sickened him, from his perfect voice and the way its sound abraded his ears with its moral tones, down to his aromatic smell which was enough to make his nose bleed. Sasuke's light stung, and his beauty hurt (how easy it was to forget now that for a long time Sasuke's presence had not hurt at all), and all of that felt delicious, true, but Naruto wanted to kill him. Especially now that the angel's cursed love had entered the equation. And _most_ especially now that his friends had taken it into their maggot-ridden heads to _rescue_ him from himself. That shit they'd cooked up about him being in danger was just that…shit.

He couldn't kill Sasuke. Aside from how displeased his master would be at him acting out of turn, it was impossible. It took all his strength just to be around the angel and not wither. And whenever they touched…

Those touches. Naruto licked his lips now, staring at the back of Sasuke's head as he gazed down at the elderly couple. While they'd been together, the pain of those touches had lessened considerably. But when Sasuke had caught him in the act of destruction, his acceptance of Naruto had obviously wavered. Naruto had reached for his arm and it had hurt quite as bad as before, if not more so. He didn't care, though. If it meant burning himself to a crisp, he was getting that freak back.

* * *

Sasuke frowned slightly at feeling the rush of warmth at his back. He turned and saw Naruto standing resolutely in the corner, hands fisted down by his sides, and red eyes serious. His entire expression was serious. Gone were the mocking eyes, the fear, doubt, and confusion he was used to seeing on Naruto's face. The demon gazed at him steadily, and Sasuke, for his part, discovered an alarming thing about himself: he was trembling. "What do you want?" he asked Naruto.

Naruto, as part of his plan to get Sasuke back, opted for the truth. "You. I need your forgiveness, Sasuke." Which was also true. Without it, he wouldn't have Sasuke, and without Sasuke, he wouldn't finish his mission. "I need it," he reiterated more softly. Then in a whisper, "I need _you_."

Sasuke's feelings rose up in a tidal wave that had him across the room in a blink. He slammed into Naruto hard enough to shake the house and make the couple stir fitfully in their sleep. Naruto caught him reflexively, braced for an almighty ball of fire to fry him where he stood…but that didn't happen. Sasuke, an angel, was embracing him completely, and he felt…the way Sasuke felt was…

"I've regretted my words this entire time," Sasuke was saying fiercely by his ear. He held Naruto tighter. "You were absolutely right, I shouldn't have left you, and I _should_ have forgiven you." He pulled back at last and cupped Naruto's face. "You came back. You're actively seeking forgiveness and that means you _can_ change. That you already have." He hugged him briefly again, before finally standing back and looking at Naruto with moist eyes.

Naruto had never been inundated with such a profusion of love and physical contact from the angel. He stood there and waited to see if he would drop dead from the trauma. He didn't. He briefly considered the thought that he was in all likelihood screwed, before he ignored this to open his mouth and speak.

Sasuke beat him to it. He was running his eyes over Naruto's body. "What happened to you?" he asked.

Looking down at himself, Naruto shrugged one shoulder. "Got into an altercation with my demon friends."

"Over what?"

"You," Naruto answered truthfully. "They think my feelings for you are clouding my judgment, corrupting me." He stared steadily into Sasuke's wide, shining eyes, and knew then and there, for sure, that he _was_ screwed. _I shouldn't have come back here. They were right, this mission is too much for one demon._ Oddly, he didn't know how he felt about that. What he found interesting, though, was how effective the truth was. How it could be interpreted in so many ways _other_ than the way it was meant to be interpreted. That was a fascinating discovery right there.

"Your feelings for me?" Sasuke all but gasped. "But…you said…"

Naruto chose to keep silent, letting Sasuke think what he would. When it seemed the angel was too overcome to speak more, Naruto held out a hand. "Come with me. Please."

Sasuke didn't hesitate. "Yes."

_And that's how you do it, friends and neighbors,_ Naruto thought smugly.

* * *

Konohamaru sat in the first row of pews and gazed up at the figure of Christ. He heard a belch and part of Cee Lo's song _Fuck You_ being sung in a wobbly voice coming from inside the confessional in the left transept. He giggled.

Father Jiraiya came out a moment later and started guiltily at the sight of Konohamaru sitting there. "And what are you doing here so late? Was just about to close up."

Konohamaru dropped his eyes to the _sake_ bottle clutched in the Father's fist. He knew it was specially imported to their small New England town. "So I see."

Jiraiya waved his hands in a shooing gesture. "Ah, go on with you. I was sinning and you know it." He moved to sit beside the teen. "So! You staying out of trouble?"

"Don't I always?"

The preacher gestured to the bandage on Konohamaru's head.

"Oh, that." Konohamaru laughed sheepishly. "Just stupid junk that happened today."

Jiraiya was thoughtful, setting his bottle on the floor by his feet. He studied the kid. "I see. And is this stupid junk the reason you're here later than usual?"

"Well, I..."

"Do your parents know you're here this time?"

"Yes."

He could see the truth of that, at least. That was a first. Usually the boy stopped by on his way home from school, and did so without his parents' knowledge. "Did something happen to make them let you?"

"No, okay? Can't I just come and sit without there having to be a reason?"

Jiraiya snorted. "Only kid I know who gets his jollies by sneaking off to a moldy old church. So what's what?"

"Nothing."

"Right. You're here at midnight with half your face bruised and the other half stitched, with your parents' permission, over nothing. Glad we got that out the way. Now stop lying to me. It's not natural to you and you're bad at it."

Konohamaru stared at the peeling soles of his sneakers, his hands shoved into his pockets. He didn't think he'd ever been so scared as he'd been today. He'd narrowly escaped death. He looked back up at the benign countenance of Christ. "Do you believe in God, Father Jiraiya?"

Jiraiya felt a shiver. "Why would you ask me that? Me, of all people?"

"Because you don't act like you do."

"If you're talking about the wine, son, or the singing-"

"No. It's...little things. Like how you don't look at His image if you can help it and...just a feeling I get."

The older man was a long time studying the wide brown eyes. The flesh around one was a rich, dark purple tinged with red.

He and God were not on the best of terms, that was true, but he wasn't about to give his back story to a child too good to understand the complexities of human nature. "I think the relevant question here is do you? You don't come to the Sunday service. Your only association with the church that I can tell is these odd visits sometimes. Do you?"

Konohamaru smiled, then turned to stare at his sneakers again. "Not the conventional interpretation of Him. And I don't believe a man named Jesus was his son, either. It just seems to me that God wouldn't go around having babies. He's _God,_ for crying out loud. What would he need with a kid?"

Riveted, Jiraiya asked, "What do you believe, then?"

"I believe there's a Power, a conscious one, and that it's too...awesome...for people to know or understand. I think there's rhyme and reason to the world, to the universe. To everything. I can't imagine the stars and planets and everything just existing and working with such precision, without a Power guiding it. And I believe in angels."

"Angels." Jiraiya's voice was curious. "Why?"

"Because I have one. I mean...I think I do. I feel it sometimes. Actually, I used to feel it all the time. Its presence, its love. That stopped when I was around seven. But today...today I think it saved my life. I think it has saved my life before."

Jiraiya was disturbed. He made a small movement, drawing Konohamaru's eyes. "Have you seen this angel?" he whispered.

Konohamaru turned from the questioning eyes to pick out depictions of angels in the stained glass windows. "Once. I was really small. There was this freak accident at the grocery store. Whole shelf of canned goods came toppling down. Me and my mother... well, she's old you know. She couldn't run or lift me or do anything but try to cover me with her body. I was in one of those shopping carts." Konohamaru smiled. "That whole shelf came falling down, just like that...and then this man just sort of was ...there. Holding it back with one hand and shoving my mom and me out the way. She fell, but ...it was weird. I swear I saw his wing catch her. He had to be ten feet tall. I was rolling away in the cart, but I know I saw that."

"Then what happened?"

"I don't know. I was stopped by the wall, I think. Bumped into it. The shelf righted itself, or the angel stood it up right. People were running to me and my mom, who was on the floor. Asking us if we were all right. I asked where the big man had gone, but everyone kept looking at me like I was crazy. And Mom thought maybe a can of peas had fallen on my head when I kept talking about it. It scared her. She said she never saw any man, so I just...stopped talking about it."

"But you never doubted what you saw," Jiraiya stated. Konohamaru shook his head.

"What did it look like, this angel?"

"Just remember the wings and the face. A strong face. It...he smiled at me."

"Can you feel it now?" Jiraiya actually glanced around the dark church, before he caught himself.

Konohamaru frowned. "…No. Not at the moment."

"And you believe this being has saved you on more than one occasion?"

Konohamaru nodded. "I know he has. Back when I was really little. A bunch of freak accidents used to happen around me and my parents all the time. They all stopped around the same time the presence went away. I'm protected, Father. I can't explain it, but I know it. I feel it. I thought…before today, I thought my angel had abandoned me, but he hasn't."

Touched by the boy's faith, Jiraiya smiled sadly. He'd lost too much of himself to be swayed, but it was still beautiful to witness. "Faith is a good thing to have. Especially in these dark times."

"How do you mean?" Konohamaru left off staring at the windows to regard Father Jiraiya's solemn face.

"You heard about what happened over in Hebron today? Building destroyed, people slaughtered?"

Konohamaru remembered the television that had been bolted to the wall in the waiting room at the hospital. There had been coverage of something that had taken place in the West Bank. "Yeah...not sure what happened, though."

"What happened was some idiot went and blew up the Cave of the Patriarchs, that's what."

"What's that?"

Jiraiya plucked his _sake_ off the floor and drank deeply. "Well," he said when he'd belched again. "According to Judaism, Christianity and Islam the holy patriarchs Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and their wives were buried there."

"What...you mean like the _Biblical_ Abraham and crew?"

"Yup."

"Who'd be dumb enough to blow that place up?"

"The thing is, eyewitness accounts from the region swear it was demons and angels fighting that destroyed the building. However, every other authority swears it was bomb, or several bombs. Christians think it was the Muslims, Muslims think it was the Jews, and Jews also think it was the Muslims. Result? War, boy. Mark my words. This will be global."

Konohamaru felt shock and fear ripple through him. "Man."

"I know. That's why it's a good time to have faith in something." Jiraiya smiled ruefully, as if wishing he could take his own advice. He swigged from his _sake._

Konohamaru smiled too, suddenly reminded of his angel, and stood. He said he should be getting back, that he didn't want his parents to worry.

Jiraiya gave a small bow of his head in farewell as Konohamaru stepped over his outstretched legs. He heard the boy exiting through the narthex, as he turned and forced himself to look up at the crucified figure he studiously avoided. One could say he avoided it religiously.

An angel, huh? The boy certainly had seemed convinced.

-oOo-

Konohamaru paused to glance behind him into the nave. He saw Father Jiraiya looking up at the large cross bearing its burden of salvation. Nodding and smiling to himself, he exited the door he'd been holding open, closed it, turned to jog down the few stone steps of the small church, and came face to face with Mug.

"Mug, dude, you scared the hell out of me."

* * *

Sasuke looked around. They were not on Earth, of that he was sure. "Where-" It came to him suddenly. He'd only heard of the place. "Is this Limbo?"

Naruto nodded. "Yes…of a sort. It is actually the land just before Limbo." He gestured to the far distance, where Sasuke's eyes were dimly able to make out the shape of high black gates that seemed to stretch across the horizon. "Beyond those gates lies the true Limbo."

"I see." Taking in the red sky, red earth beneath his feet, and the acrid stench of the air, Sasuke said, "It's not at all as Christians believe."

"And a lot closer to Hell than they know." Naruto hadn't stopped staring at Sasuke once.

"Why have you brought me here?"

Right then, at that moment of his question, Sasuke cocked his head in a manner, had an expression on his face, that brought home to Naruto the full enormity of what his Master had done to him by assigning him this mission. He knew now why it would be rewarded with a place at his right hand, why the strongest demon in hell had been chosen, and why his fellow demons had tried so hard to save him. He'd been arrogant, he saw now, and prideful to think he could succeed unscathed. And pride goes before a fall, wasn't that the saying?

He now comprehended Sasuke fully. What he was. What he _meant._

"Naruto?"

The sound of his name startled him, so absorbed was he in these revelations. "I-" He was at a loss for words. Fuck, he was just plain lost. "I…Sasuke…" Images played across his mind, scenes of his time with Sasuke. The moments wherein he'd been blind, where Sasuke's influence had snuck into him while he'd been unaware.

Naruto now understood everything. Completely. Odd that he, of all creatures, should receive an epiphany. Odd, and unspeakably cruel. He raised perplexed eyes to find Sasuke coming toward him.

"It's all right, Naruto." He rested his hand on the demon's shoulder. "It's all right."

"It's not. My master sacrificed me to get what he wanted. That selfish, _selfish_ son of a goat-raped camel."

"I don't understand."

Naruto looked at him, looked at the kindly expression on his face. "No. You don't. And therein lies the crux of the matter."

Sasuke saw the most arresting look of tortured anguish cross Naruto's face. So wrenching was the demon's agony, that he became quite alarmed. "Naruto? What is it? Let me help you." He brought his other hand up so that it rested on Naruto's other shoulder. "Only tell me what it is, and I will help."

"You can't." Great, sulfuric tears burned and smoked their way down Naruto's cheeks.

Sasuke, afraid now, drew Naruto to him, held him. Naruto's heat baked through him, to settle in his being with sizzling warmth. "Come, Naruto, you must have brought me here for a reason. I can help, if you'll only let me."

He felt Naruto sag in his arms. "It's too late," he whispered.

* * *

Jiraiya heard the shotgun blast, and whirled on the bench to stare toward the church doors.

* * *

Sasuke felt a ripple go through him, and left Naruto with a flash of light. He was instantly at the church. "No," he breathed.

* * *

Konohamaru was sprawled on his back, on the church stairs. His eyes were open. He saw the brilliant shape of his angel, saw him clearly at last. It was the same strong face, beautiful, but now sorrowful. Looking at him. He dimly sensed Father Jiraiya dropping to his knees beside him, distantly felt himself being cradled in the Father's strong arms, but he was completely focused on the angel that was now coming toward him.

"He's here, Father. My angel. Do you see him?"

"Hush, don't try to speak," Jiraiya wept. "If you're as protected as you say, your angel would have prevented this from happening."

Sasuke felt the words rip through him.

Jiraiya tried to fumble his phone from his pocket, but his hand was too bloody. It slipped and tumbled down the stone steps, out of reach. He looked to the boy who'd shot Konohamaru. He seemed to be standing in a state of shock, the gun dangling uselessly from his hands.

Konohamaru tried to smile at his angel, but then he felt as if his insides were being sucked right out of him, and all he saw were passing clouds and light. Lots of blindingly bright light that didn't blind him.

-oOo-

Mug sank slowly to the ground. The Father leaned over Konohamaru's body, crying openly.

He'd stood over his dead brother and felt his head spinning. He'd been horrified at what he'd done, at the six other bodies in the room with him. He'd dropped the shotgun then, his strength ebbing sharply, but she'd been there. His mama had been there to whisper that there was only one way to make his brother's death all better, to erase all the guilt that had suddenly rushed over his heart. "You gots to take out the one who started all this. It's all that boy's fault, Dylan. If he'd toked up like he was supposed to, your brother wouldn'ta got mad and had his homies hurt you. You need to make him pay. Justice, son."

Justice. He didn't even remember getting to this part of town. He'd walked out of the tree line across the street to find the church right there and Konohamaru coming out. His friend had smiled at seeing him, had said something, but all he'd heard was his mother's voice. He'd squeezed the trigger.

And then all he'd heard was the way Konohamaru had gasped. Konohamaru, his new friend. His friend had grabbed his sleeve as he'd slid to the steps. Mug had looked down at him, realizing he'd shot him just as he'd shot his brother.

He looked up now and saw the original creature who'd spoken to him in the alley hovering by the tree line. It grinned and spoke in his mother's voice. "Well done."

-oOo-

Sasuke, who'd followed Mug's line of sight, was in time to see Naruto vanish.

By the time an ambulance and the police arrived, there were two dead bodies. One was pronounced dead of a shotgun wound to the chest, the other from severe trauma to the body.

* * *

Sasuke had seen the glimmer of Konohamaru's soul being taken up by whatever angel had been assigned to do so...which wasn't him, obviously. He drifted over to look down at the boy he'd guarded as he was zipped into a body bag.

No. He was looking down at the shell that had housed him. The boy was gone.

-oOo-

Sasuke watched helplessly as the old man and woman were roused from their sleep to be brought news of their son's death. The cop at their door couldn't quite catch the old man as he pitched forward. They nearly both collapsed to the floor. The old woman ran to fetch his medication, but she too, was stricken with grief and made frailer by it. She fumbled the bottles, blind through her tears, and the old man stiffened in the cop's arms and grew still. She herself was taken to the hospital by the ambulance the other cop called, but only lasted a few days.

The funeral service was for father, mother, and son.

Sasuke watched them lowered into the earth, and felt an urge to demolish the house they'd lived in, to destroy everything he could reach; the family he'd taken under his wing was dead. Nothing could ever be right again.

He turned away instead.

Naruto. Naruto had done this.

-oOo-

" _Three things cannot be long hidden: the sun, the moon, and the truth." ~ Buddha_


	5. Chapter 5

" _Abashed the devil stood, and felt how awful goodness is." ~ John Milton_

-oOo- _  
_

Naruto was standing as he'd left him. Sasuke studied the drooping shoulders, the lowered head, and knew that practically no time had passed in Limbo. He kept his eyes trained on the demon as he slowly stalked toward him.

Of all the chaotic emotions he was feeling, the need to share his pain dominated. He didn't think, didn't want to think. He only wanted to hurt Naruto as the demon had hurt him. As he drew closer to where Naruto stood, the bitter taste of vengeance settled in Sasuke's heart.

-oOo-

He'd never seen Sasuke's true form, not all of it. Angels, as well as demons, had to water down their appearances considerably in order to walk Earth's delicate surface, no matter that they did so in a section of reality invisible to humans. Their true forms would have scorched and scarred the Earth. Here in Limbo, no such restrictions applied.

To see it now, knowing nothing but purest, righteous fury caused it, left Naruto feeling awed. Were he in his right mind he would never have felt such a thing. Him? Awed over some pussy of an _angel_? Not Naruto. Never. But he _wasn't_ in his right mind. He was royally fucked. So he stood there, aware that he was most probably about to experience something worse than he could imagine, and was awed into a submissive state of mind by a sight no demon ever saw. None who were in a condition to tell of it, anyway.

Sasuke was taller, broader. His light would have blinded mortals, would have done the same to Naruto. Naruto, screwed as he was, was able to endure it, though painfully. He squinted, while retreating to his true form as well. All of Limbo was illuminated. Sasuke's wings were considerably larger than Naruto remembered seeing them. Here, shown in their true glory, they spread out at least a hundred feet to either side of Sasuke's shoulders. He stopped in front of Naruto.

The black eyes were awful to behold, made more so by the sheen of tears. Sasuke's voice vibrated through him, raw and menacing. "You killed him."

There was no denying it. He lowered his eyes at last, to the ground between himself and Sasuke. "Yes."

"Yet you are here. You were here with me while Konohamaru was being killed. How?"

"A clone."

Sasuke plainly felt a keen urge to rip Naruto to shreds. He let this unfamiliar thirst for revenge roll through him in unpleasant waves. The feeling was evil. An evil emotion, and the cause of much evil on Earth. Angels did not deal in revenge, yet he was unable just then to rid himself of it. The loss of Konohamaru, knowing it was indeed his fault, seemed to give birth to, and in turn nurture, a whole host of negative emotions.

He drew back his fist and punched Naruto with all the power at his command.

-oOo-

He had looked into Konohamaru's dying eyes. The boy had seen him clearly. And even aware of Sasuke's failure as they'd both been in that moment, Sasuke had received nothing but love from Konohamaru. This, more than anything, was what drove his fist. It deafened him to Naruto's pleas. He had the demon by the throat, landing one punch after another on his lying face, his light blazing all around him in the red, dusty atmosphere of Limbo. Naruto didn't fight him. Sasuke felt an unholy satisfaction at indulging his need for revenge, and felt he could swing at Naruto indefinitely.

But no. He was an agent of reason, not madness. It was hard to remember that, to halt his fist from descending yet again. He shoved the demon away from him, and stood up. Turned away. After a moment, he looked over his shoulder. Naruto was rolling painfully to his side, shakily getting to his hands and knees. "How could you do it? _Why_ did you do it? And to lure me here deliberately…"

Naruto raised swimming red eyes to his. This was a disconcerting sight. "Sasuke…"

" _Why?"_

"I was jealous. I…" But Naruto cringed inwardly from the admission. He couldn't say it. So help him, he just couldn't. He got haltingly to his feet.

"Jealous?" Sasuke repeated, incredulous. He backhanded Naruto then, a stunning blow that he gave on general principle. "Stop _lying_ to me!"

"I'm not," Naruto choked, reeling from the blow. "I swear to you, I'm not. Look at me, you'll know I'm telling the truth."

Sasuke did look. Long and hard. He hesitated, then walked up to Naruto and grabbed him behind his neck so that they were eye to eye. Naruto's inner turmoil was laid bare under such scrutiny. "I would say this behavior of yours that I'm witnessing now is an act, more of your lies, for which I'm inclined to hurt you further… but I know the remorse you're feeling now is real. It is an emotion angels are familiar with, hence I can judge its authenticity." Sasuke paused a moment. When he'd first met Naruto, he'd felt nothing from him. Not from his inner being, at any rate. Which meant all those times Naruto had professed to be confused or repentant for his actions had indeed been lies. He'd taken the words at face value, for which he'd paid, and paid dearly. Now, though, he could feel a multitude of conflicting things from the demon. Anger, revulsion, fear… but most of all, regret and love. Love for him. This was what stayed his hand, what caused him to try and get to the bottom of this and find the truth. "Why," Sasuke resumed, though his voice still shook with pain and fury, "would you go to so much trouble to kill someone important to me, if you are so regretful?"

Naruto had been gritting his teeth to withstand the hand on his neck. So long as Sasuke was angry with him, his acceptance of Naruto was absent; his touch again had the power to burn. He winced, stuttering a request for Sasuke to release him. The hand only tightened. "Please!"

Sasuke was relentless. His eyes bored into Naruto's, waiting. Naruto shook his head slowly. Those dark eyes killed him. Just killed him. How could he explain that he'd put that course of action into place when he'd still been ignorant? It wouldn't ring true. That seemed to be the way of things, though: the truth was often mistaken for lies, while lies were usually believed unquestionably. Even he was guilty. He'd believed the Father of Lies himself.

"Answer me," Sasuke said quietly.

Naruto lifted his head and tried to square his shoulders. He came to a decision. _If I'm going down, then I'm going down, so be it. Can't change that. But I'll be damned if that bastard who calls himself my master gets what he wants from me._ "I'm… going. I'll leave you alone." He tried to pull out of Sasuke's grasp.

Sasuke's hand tightened on the back of his neck again, and now… now his touch was starting to heat up even more. "Answer me, Naruto. Why?" His forehead was nearly touching the demon's, his light all but blistering in its intensity.

Naruto clenched his teeth against that escalating burn. He couldn't say it. He just couldn't say what he felt for him. "Sasuke… let me go. I won't bother you again, I swear."

The fingers dug into his neck. "Do you truly think I'll let you leave?" Sasuke's tears were coming afresh. "That you can manipulate me, lie to me, kill Konohamaru, and then just _leave_?" He now had both hands on Naruto, who was starting to gasp. He shook him hard.

Naruto retreated to his flames; Sasuke's touch was killing him. "Stop…. Sasuke," he rasped. He started to wilt.

Sasuke wished he _could_ stop. Stop being confused, stop craving the feeling of this demon, stop wanting him despite what he was. He wished he could stop loving him because he'd killed Konohamaru. He wished his monstrous pain at that, at his own guilt in the matter, could wash away his oh-so-wrong love for Naruto, but it didn't. He was hurting so much, wanted to kill the fainting demon right there, and _still_ he couldn't stop loving him. Powerful as he was, he was powerless against this one demon.

A wordless cry of misery left Sasuke as he dragged Naruto forward and awkwardly kissed him.

* * *

For a moment, Naruto thought he really would die. The pain was so unbearable that he couldn't be shocked or disgusted at an angel kissing him. But then the light, instead of burning him, began penetrating him, and that was worse. And then the burn lessened somewhat, the light inside him mixing with his own flaming nature, and then… oh, then… he was kissing Sasuke, kissing his angel, and it was _nothing_ like kissing a demon or a mortal.

His love took over baking him from within, yet somehow gave him the strength to withstand that scorching light.

-oOo-

Through the flames and his own wildly pulsating essence, Sasuke felt Naruto stiffen, then relax, then grab him in turn. From that point on, things were not in his control.

Naruto's fire hurt him at first. Only at first. Then the heat of it cooled in comparison to the heat rising in him. Naruto likewise seemed to grow more confident, more comfortable, with the prolonged contact. Sasuke's wings fluttered stiffly in uncertainty. When he managed to pull back from the kiss at last, he tried to speak.

"We… shouldn't…"

"No, we shouldn't," Naruto confirmed. He had Sasuke by the head, his lips close to his. "But I mean to have you anyway, angel."

Sasuke felt an alarming spike in his light, followed by a sensation of growing weaker. Naruto had an arm around his neck now, cupping the back of his head. Sasuke trembled as the feeling in him grew. The heavy fullness was back as well, and Sasuke issued a soft moan that stirred the flames surrounding Naruto's face.

"Okay," Naruto whispered in his ear. "It's okay. You're feeling desire, is all." He pulled back a bit, met Sasuke wide, terrified eyes. "Let me show you."

"No…Naruto…" he shouldn't have kissed him. A foolish, mortal thing to do. Yet even knowing he shouldn't have, and afraid of what he'd started, Sasuke could not find it within himself to regret it. The _feel_ of it….

Naruto brushed his lips against Sasuke's softly, very softly. The flames were warm licks against his light that intensified his trembling unbearably. Another whimper left Sasuke. "Shh," Naruto soothed. "Don't be afraid… I want you."

Sasuke could feel that too. Naruto's want and need were evident, washing over him so that he calmed down from his mad fright somewhat. "I…I want you too," he admitted. Oh, but what would happen? Now that the action seemed evident, he felt all manner of uncertainties. Wrong. So reprehensibly wrong!

"Let me show you," Naruto hissed again.

So seductive, Naruto's voice. The demon's love was an enormous, fiery blaze that Sasuke felt matched his own love perfectly. _Naruto, Naruto, how desperately I love you, despite what you did._ In his misery, here was comfort. His guilt had intensified with this betrayal; Konohamaru was dead. The fault was his, yet here he stood with the boy's murderer. Everything was so wrong. So twisted and corrupted. This was all he had, his love for a demon, his _desire_ for evil.

But Naruto loved him. And Konohamaru had not been his mission. _Naruto_ was his mission. Sasuke closed his eyes in acceptance. "Yes. A-all right."

Naruto's nine bushy tails wrapped around every part of Sasuke. Sasuke's wings closed hesitantly around them both. Naruto bore them to the ground.

* * *

It was an act of such terrible intensity, that it was felt in both Heaven and Hell.

There was the mating… and then there was the _mating._

It wasn't just the joining of a heavenly creature and a hellish one. More than Sasuke's innocence was lost at the penetration. More than the doom of humanity was consummated with Naruto's possession of the angel. The tireless movements signified shifts elsewhere in the universe. The motion of the demon over and in the angel in turn set in motion events that would be irreversible.

When Sasuke sighed in surrender, it wasn't just his body and heart he gave up. And when Naruto gazed into the gasping white face, his thoughts weren't on conquest or his mission.

Even by angelic and demonic standards, the event was long. When the final climax came, sealing the fate of Sasuke and Naruto both, all of Limbo quaked and trembled, not just them.

* * *

After, they were afraid. They were on their sides, facing each other. Naruto's tails were still around Sasuke. Sasuke's wings still enveloped them both. Furthermore, they had their arms and legs tightly about each other, hanging on as their panic rose. They gazed at each other in fright and amazement. They were like children; they knew they'd done something very wrong, knew they were in trouble for it, but didn't know just how _much_ trouble they were in. They suspected a lot. However, being in ignorance, their imagination ran amok and left them stiff and petrified in each other's arms.

"Your eyes aren't red anymore," Sasuke whispered eventually.

Naruto whispered too. "They aren't?"

"No. They're blue. So blue, like the lakes in Heaven."

Naruto considered this, considered himself, for long pensive moments. "Well… I do feel different. I feel your light in me." And he felt decidedly… less. Less evil. Shit. If that wasn't an assfull of bad right there, he didn't know what was. Just the idea of being filled with goodness left him feeling queasy. But then loving Sasuke didn't feel wrong to him anymore, so he shouldn't feel whipped at the good in him now. Fuck, he was confused. He looked at Sasuke, and decided that the angel looked the same. "Do you feel different?"

"Not especially, no. I feel your essence inside me still, though."

"Oh. Sasuke… I, uh… I think we're in for some serious smiting. From Above."

Sasuke smiled, marveling that though he was worried about the aftermath of his actions, his previous misery and doubt were gone. Cleansed away by all that Naruto had shown him and made him feel. "I'm sure there will be some reprimands as to my methods, but I think in the end I'll be rewarded."

"What?" Naruto coughed out a disbelieving laugh. It was short. "Rewarded for sleeping with a demon?"

"For saving you. I have, you know. You said yourself that you feel different. Do you feel the urge to commit evil?"

"Not precisely, but-"

"Then you're saved." He leaned in and kissed Naruto's eyes. "I can see the truth of it looking at me."

"And… what? You think I'll be allowed in Heaven?"

"Well… I may have to intercede on your behalf, but yes. Why not?" He stroked Naruto's whiskers.

Naruto sighed, then reluctantly released Sasuke to sit up. "You really don't understand, do you?"

"What is there to understand? I may have gone about it in an unusual fashion, but I accomplished my mission, the task set for me."

"No. Sasuke…" But he realized abruptly that he couldn't divulge the truth to him. As in physically could not. Big, cosmic no-no. Straining would be ineffectual. He could strain until he exploded where he sat, and Sasuke would remain in ignorance. Still, he had to try. "Sasuke… do you know the meaning of life? All intelligent life?"

"Of course," Sasuke frowned. "We are all created to worship our Lord."

"No. It's choice, Sasuke. It's all about choices." He paused, as he felt the unmistakable sensation of a summons from Hell. He ignored it. He wouldn't be able to indefinitely, though. Time was short. "Do you understand?"

"No."

The summons grew stronger, starting to hurt. Sasuke also looked upward, as if hearing something. "What is it?" Naruto asked. But he thought he could hear a distant rumble that was rapidly drawing closer.

Sasuke frowned. "I-"

A bolt of lighting hundreds of feet thick stabbed down at them, neatly cracking Limbo in two.

* * *

When Naruto jerked awake some time later he found himself not in Limbo, but in some place he'd never seen before. His eyes roved frantically here and there.

Clouds.

Everywhere.

Light.

_Everywhere._

"Holy sh-"

"Please. Don't use that language here."

He whirled and found Sasuke standing not far from him. "Wh-where am I? Oh, hell, tell me you didn't bring me to-"

"Heaven?" Sasuke gave a distracted half smile. "No. Close. Somewhere in between true Heaven, and Earth. I like to call this place the lower heavens."

Wherever they were, it was freezing. Naruto hugged himself as he shivered hard. Then he looked at the clouds beneath his ass. They seemed insubstantial, but supported his weight. Weird. And _so_ gross. He kept himself still, not wanting to touch the clouds any more than was absolutely necessary. They were so soft and…and just _ick._ "I've never been this high up before." _I'm going to throw up._

"No demon has."

"Why are we here?"

"Apparently, you were right about the smiting. Some of my colleagues wish a word with me and thought to send the bolt as an... invitation."

Naruto realized for the first time that Sasuke wasn't just looking off into the distance. He was scanning, searching for threats. Trying to imagine an angelic smackdown and failing, Naruto spoke in hushed tones. "You saved me from them?"

"Yes."

"Even after all I've done?"

"Yes."

"Sasuke." Sasuke didn't look at him, still staring into the distance. "I'm a demon. I've… I've lied to you and manipulated you and killed your human kid."

Sasuke noticed that Naruto's language was back to the way it was when he'd first met him. "Yes."

"So why?"

Now Sasuke did turn to him, if only briefly. "Did our recent actions mean nothing to you?"

Naruto felt himself heating in embarrassment. Who would ever have thought sex with an angel would be so different? "No, of course not." He got to his feet and came to stand by Sasuke. He walked carefully, testing each part of the cloud with his clawed toes before putting his weight down. He grimaced at the little puffs of cloud that were stirred at his steps. His skin was crawling by the time he reached Sasuke. "It's just… you saving me, on _top_ of that feels… weird."

Sasuke smiled into the puzzled blue eyes. "You're unused to remorse. Konohamaru meant a lot to me, true. And I felt guilty for not protecting him, but you did what you did because of your feelings for me. That is too significant for me to remain angry, aside from that emotion being foreign to my disposition. I forgive you, Naruto."

Naruto felt like he would break; Sasuke's forgiveness was like a mountain on his shoulders. That, coupled with a sudden, debilitating sense of his own guilt left him feeling eviscerated. How did humans and angels _live_ with this garbage in them every day? In the name of all evil, just _how?_ Right then he longed for the simple, uncomplicated days when he'd just been a demon out for fun.

But then he wouldn't know Sasuke, wouldn't have his love, and Naruto could admit privately that he would die a thousand deaths before giving that up. Still…

He turned from those benevolent eyes and ran a hand through his spiky hair. "I don't know how I'm going to be able to take this," he muttered. "This whole love thing. I mean look at me, I'm completely _fucked._ " He cocked his head, listening. "There is one good side to being up here, though. I can't feel Hell's summons anymore. You think your angel buddies will try to snuff us again?"

Sasuke shook his head in bemusement at the way Naruto tried to ignore the new intimacy between them. He supposed the demon would need time to come around. In the meantime, he answered Naruto's question. "I don't think they were trying to snuff us, as you put it. Heaven does not 'try' at anything. They _do._ If you and I are alive, it is deliberate. What happened in Limbo was as I said. An invitation to own up to what I've done. I assumed you might also be summoned to answer for our actions, so I cloaked you in my grace. Hell can't sense you." That Sasuke even _could_ cloak Naruto was evidence of how thoroughly they'd joined. So was the fact that Naruto was able to sit in the lower heavens.

"Sweet. Now what?"

"Now, I go and answer for my behavior. I may be punished, but they can't deny that I've saved you, and successfully transformed an agent of evil into an agent of good. Everything will be all right. You'll see, Naruto. Heaven is a forgiving place. And my Lord is the Most Merciful. You'll be allowed to ascend, I will see to it." At seeing Naruto's frown, he asked, "That's what you want, isn't it?"

Ascend? Like, up to Heaven? To be around a bunch of dickless wonders with light shining out of their asses? Naruto could personally think of nothing worse. "I really don't think I belong up there," he said nervously.

"You're different now."

"I'm still a demon, Sasuke. I may not be _as_ evil as I was before, but I'm not good. Far from it. They won't let me up there, trust me." _Please don't let me be accepted up there._

Sasuke walked over to him, and embraced him. "No. _You_ trust _me._ I know my home. After I intercede on your behalf, we'll both be welcomed."

Naruto sighed in bliss at feeling Sasuke's arms around him. He could feel Sasuke's light in him too, still heating him from within. It chased away his chill at being this far from Hell. He felt less fucked when in contact with the angel. "You really believe that?"

"No. I _know_ it." Sasuke pulled back. "I'm going to go Up now and when I get back, you'll see that I'm right. Stay here, and don't go anywhere. All right?"

"Okay. Sasuke," Naruto said, when he spread his wings. Sasuke looked at him question. "Just… hurry. I don't like being in this strange place by myself. I don't feel safe."

Sasuke laughed privately. Naruto's distrust of anything not evil was amusing. But then his mirth died away and he was left with nerves and doubt. He'd hidden the truth of the situation from Naruto, which was that he was in far more trouble than he'd let on.

He'd transgressed, gone astray. And there would be a reckoning. His Maker saw all, knew all. It was known even now by Him, so it was not a matter of waiting to be Summoned; he'd had the will to go against his nature, therefore he must demonstrate his will and seek out his punishment.

He gave Naruto a last encouraging smile, and then ascended from the lower heavens.

* * *

He was stopped.

Instead of being allowed entry to higher levels as he was accustomed, Sasuke was blocked only a few levels removed from the one he'd left Naruto in. It was the same archangel who'd delivered the message that he was to go down to Earth. The archangel did not greet him this time.

Sasuke inclined his own head in greeting anyway. Then he waited. There was silence for a long time.

At last the archangel spoke. "You are forbidden entry here, Sasuke." His voice was quiet, but devoid of regret or sorrow. It held no emotion whatsoever.

Sasuke was careful to keep respect in his tone, as he looked up at the stern features of the archangel. "Forbidden? Why?"

"You know why. You are no longer fit to enter Heaven. You are impure."

Sasuke blinked. "I know my method was outside the ways of angels, but my task was difficult! I needed to resort to the measures I did in order to complete it. And I have, I accomplished my task successfully." He did not mention that his final act with Naruto had been more for his own solace than to help the demon. Naruto's transformation during the act was a lucky bonus.

The archangel listened, but when he spoke his voice was implacable. "You failed utterly."

"No," Sasuke frowned. "No, I was successful. My mission was to reform the demon, and I-"

"Your _mission_ was nothing of the kind. You were Commanded to go down to what you'd wrought."

"I did! I went, but with no specific task, I assumed-"

"What you _did_ ," the archangel interrupted stonily, "was what you _always_ do. Exactly what _you_ wanted. Your pride in yourself is boundless, Sasuke. Why did you not await further Commands? _That_ was your task. To obey. For once, just to _obey,_ Sasuke."

"I-"

"You have no idea what you've done, do you," the archangel stated.

Sasuke's blank expression was answer enough. The archangel was not inclined to enlighten him. Sasuke stood staring at his terrible beauty until at last he said, "But the demon? He is saved, is he not? When I am allowed re-entry, he may come with me?"

The archangel showed an expression at last. It was naked wonder at the sheer audacity of such a question. "Into Heaven? A demon? Are you mad, Sasuke?"

"But-"

"There will be no re-entry for you. Ever. You are banished forthwith from Heaven and any of its vicinity. You are Fallen-"

"No!" Sasuke felt pain slash through him as the utterance of these words made them reality; he could feel his wings being torn from his back, to fade into nothing and leave him defenseless.

"-stripped of your wings, your grace, and your power. As for the demon… Hell is waiting for him."

Sasuke didn't have time to beg, could not even lift himself from the kneeling position he'd collapsed to. He'd never before endured such physical pain. It was crippling. The archangel held up his hand, and Sasuke found himself slammed down to Earth's surface with enough force to level some unknown mountain in Africa.

* * *

Naruto, who'd been cast out as well it seemed, groaned beside him. "What the _fuck-_ " He got painfully to his knees, looking back and forth between Sasuke and the sky above them.

Sasuke sat up slowly.

Naruto got a look at his wide-eyed, horrified face, at the way he was doubled over in pain, and rushed to him. He grabbed his shoulders, but Sasuke didn't look at him. He was staring at the horizon. Naruto ventured a question. "I take it things didn't go well?"

Still no answer. Just then, the summons from Hell came stronger than ever. Looked like his cloak of grace had been snatched by whichever holy numbnuts had kicked them out of the lower heavens. Naruto resisted the summons ruthlessly to grab Sasuke's face and shout. "Sasuke, look at me! What happened?"

A blink. A shudder. Sasuke lifted lifeless eyes to his. "I failed. You weren't my mission."

Naruto hesitated, but figured the time to be coy was passed. "I know."

That got Sasuke's attention. He looked at Naruto properly with haunted eyes. "What? You knew?"

"Yeah." Naruto sat on his heels in front of Sasuke and squinted up at the edge of the crater their decent had caused. "Remember what I told you about choices and all that?"

"Yes."

"Well…" Naruto looked around the crater, but finally settled on telling the truth to Sasuke's face. He met his eyes. "You weren't supposed to choose me." _But I'm happy you did. The loss of humanity's savior is a small price to pay, too. Those insects deserve to roast in Hell._

Sasuke's face clouded with confusion. Slowly, very slowly, comprehension dawned on him. He stared at Naruto in shock that was rapidly turning into hurt. "You were there to tempt me?"

Naruto nodded. "Yes."

"Then… everything that happened between us was planned?"

A bitter, humorless laugh escaped Naruto. "Actually, _none_ of what happened between us was planned, Sasuke. I was supposed to lead you down the path of evil, but you… there was never any hope of that happening. Not the way they were expecting. And everything _else_ that happened… you loving me, and me… uh… me… well, I don't think that was expected from either end of the good/evil arena. Definitely not what we did. You know, in Limbo."

An image of Naruto filling him with his body, kissing him, those tails wrapped around him, and also penetrating him intimately, rose in Sasuke's mind. There had been a moment when Naruto had sunk his fangs into him… He blinked now to clear his mind of the thought. "I don't understand. If there was never any hope of me succumbing to evil, why were you sent?"

The expression that settled on Naruto's face then was virulent hatred. "My Master. First rate shit that he is, he intended to sacrifice me to the mission. He figured I'd be strong enough to tempt you into at least rejecting Heaven first, I guess. So long as he got what he wanted, he didn't care what it did to me. He probably knew I wouldn't be able to withstand you. That being around a creature of light would eventually weaken me. Whether or not he knew I'd fall-" Naruto cut himself off hastily. "I'd made up my mind when you got back from… from seeing Konohamaru, that I was turning my back on the mission. I wasn't going to give the fucker what he wanted. But then we… uh…"

"What made you change your mind? Why were you so regretful after you'd killed him?"

Naruto shrugged; it was easier than explaining. Sasuke, though, waited patiently for an answer. "I don't know. I guess because I…" He sighed shortly, ran both hands through his hair in exasperation. "Look, I don't want to talk about this, okay?"

"Naruto, please."

_Damnit._ He was a long time answering, trying to impress Sasuke with his glare. Sasuke merely blinked at him. He turned and stared up at where the sun was setting. "I don't know how long it was there before I realized it, but… when I brought you to Limbo… I don't know. Something about how you looked at me. How you tilted your head when you asked me something. I just felt… well, that was the moment I knew I was screwed. Really screwed. All these feelings, _my_ feelings, just sort of exploded all through me, and that was when I knew. How I felt, I mean. But by then I'd already put my shit into action. It was too late."

Sasuke reached over and laid his hand on Naruto's shoulder. He was interested to note that Naruto was no longer naked. There was some kind of ghostly garment around his loins, black, and wispy like his own garment was.

Naruto rested his hand above Sasuke's. "Anyway, when you got back, I'd decided not to give my master what he wanted. Not just because he'd betrayed me, but because of you. I don't want to see you in Hell, Sasuke. So, even though I didn't get in, I think you should go back to Heaven. My Master wants you, and sooner or later, he'll find a way to get you. It won't be through me, though, I promise you that." His face squeezed in a grimace, but he forced himself to say, "This is where we part ways."

"Naruto," Sasuke was nonplussed. "You would go against your Master for me?"

"Yeah. Now go already, before he-"

"Be at ease. No demon can summon me anywhere. Besides, I can't… return to Heaven." He turned his face aside quickly.

Naruto had seen the tears, though. "Huh? Can't return? What do you mean, you have to go back! Look, I don't know if what we did qualifies as corrupting you enough or not, but he'll be sending someone to try and tempt you again if it hasn't. He's been summoning me since Limbo. I can't ignore it forever, or he'll be sending the hounds after me, but you shouldn't be here. Go." He gave Sasuke a mild shove.

"I've been stripped of my power," Sasuke sniffled quietly. He scrubbed his hands down his face. "Banished."

"Wha-!" Naruto's mind went temporarily blank with profound astonishment. He held his hand up in the air, as if gesturing to something. "But… for how long?"

"Forever. I'm Fallen, Naruto."

A brief, scandalized stare of incomprehension. Then, "Oh, no, no, no, no, _no._ Shit. Shit!" Naruto got up and looked around frantically. If Sasuke was Fallen, that changed everything. No powers, no heavenly grace… fuck, and he'd been sitting here with his own guard down the entire time! "Okay… I can't see any demons yet, but you have to book. Like, right now. Get out of here. Hide… uh, up there in the lower heavens where we-"

"I can't. I can go no closer to Heaven than where I am right now."

And the hits just kept on coming. "Fuck!"

The summons was now unbearable. Naruto pressed the heels of his hands to his temples and tried to think. "Okay. Okay." He spotted Sasuke looking up at him. Lost. Depending on him. How in _hell_ did everything get so fucked up? "You trust me?"

"Yes." No hesitation.

Naruto shook his head. "Unwise, but no help for it now." He closed his eyes.

Sasuke watched Naruto. The flames of Naruto's origins sprang up around him, but weakly. His tails lashed about in agitation, trying to call up more, and then the flames grew stronger. He could both see and sense that Naruto was straining himself mightily to call up his demonic power, just as he knew that his altered state was making it difficult. "What are you doing?"

"My master is calling. I've put it off for as long as I could, but if I don't go he'll send something to fetch me, and that will be unpleasant, even for me. I have to go down there and try to reason with him, try to get him to forget you. And to be down there, I have to eradicate any good I have in me. He'll sense it, for one. For another, if I have good inside me, I'll choke down there. The atmosphere isn't conducive to goodness. I'm thinking if I can call up all my power, it will flush all your goodness out of me." He finally opened his eyes as his flames died away. He frowned. "I didn't get rid of it all, did I," he said heavily.

Sasuke saw the way one of Naruto's eyes was now red, while the other remained stubbornly blue. "No. I don't think you can. Naruto, stop fearing for me. I told you, even stripped of my power, no demon can summon me. Certainly not to Hell."

Naruto seemed not to hear. "I'll try to be back quickly. You should cloak yourself, if you can. I'm just going to… hey… what are you doing?"

Sasuke was standing up. "You're being summoned for punishment, aren't you? Well, then I've changed my mind."

Naruto closed his mouth. His two-toned eyes were mutinous.

"I think I should go with you, Naruto. You and I both know your Master won't let you out of Hell ever again. If I'm there to explain that you succumbed against your will, perhaps he'll be…"

"What, merciful?" Naruto snorted rudely. "That word isn't even in his vocabulary." But he looked at Sasuke speculatively. An utterly selfish feeling of relief swept through him at the fact that Sasuke didn't want to leave him. Then he walked over to him and dropped his arms around his neck. He rested his chin on Sasuke's shoulder and felt him adopt the same position. "It'll be bad for you down there. I'll protect you, keep the demons off you, but it'll be bad. Really bad, Sasuke."

"I know," he whispered back. "But we'll be together. You're all I have now, Naruto. I'll follow you into Hell if I have to, but I won't let you be taken from me as well. Not after everything we've been through together."

Naruto was touched so that hot tears sprang suddenly to his eyes. He squeezed them shut. "Sasuke… shit, you don't belong down there. I can't let you do this." But he couldn't give Sasuke up, either. Not ever, despite having just suggested that the angel take off.

"It's not for you to _let_ me do anything. Heaven is closed to me. Without my power, the power to help humans, being on Earth would soon become a hell for me. You, my heart, will be gone. I'd rather be with you, helping you, than here on Earth, where I'll be useless. The matter is simple. And not up for discussion."

Naruto had to admit that he could not stop him. "Fuck. Sasuke, I am so fucking sorry." He felt Sasuke nodding against his shoulder, rubbing his back. _This is all the heaven I need, right here in his arms,_ Naruto thought."Listen, if… if it looks like my Master won't be willing to see reason I just want you to know that I won't let him hurt you."

It was Sasuke's turn to be touched. He smiled sadly. "You can't take him on. Besides, you already said he wants me. Do you really think he went to all this trouble to get me, only to hurt me?"

"He's unpredictable. He's not like anything you've ever encountered, Sasuke. I may be evil, but he's the _root_ of all evil." Then, because he had to try one more time, "Please reconsider. Once you're down there, you might not be able to leave."

"You're worried for me." This made him hold Naruto tighter. "I'm more afraid of what will happen to you, though."

There was silence, as they hung on to each other. Naruto felt the rising pain of the summons, and knew it would soon override his power to resist. They drew back to put their foreheads against each other. Then Sasuke whispered, "What will happen? Really?"

"I don't know."

"Whatever happens, know that I love you, Naruto."

Naruto squeezed him fiercely in answer as fires sprang up around them both and sucked them down to Hell.

-oOo-

" _Courage is the discovery that you may not win, and trying when you know you can lose." ~ Tom Krause_


	6. Chapter 6

_"So dear I love him that with him all deaths I could endure, without him live no life." ~ John Milton_

-oOo- _  
_

Instead of appearing directly before his Master's throne, as Naruto had expected, he and Sasuke appeared in a deep, dark pit in some obscure corner on the far side of Hell. Before he could question this, the atmosphere hit him and Sasuke both. Naruto sagged, but Sasuke dropped completely. They were burning up and unable to breathe. Sasuke wheezed harder, suffered worse, because of his heavenly nature. That he didn't immediately combust completely was due to whatever of Naruto's power remained in him.

Naruto couldn't see. His eyesight was infinitely weaker, thanks to the change in him. Sasuke's body was a faintly glowing shape. Naruto staggered to him, coughing at the jagged-glass quality of the atmosphere entering his body. He didn't breathe, per se, but demons and angels did take in the surroundings of their origins, when they were in them, as humans did. It was a form of sustenance, but just then Hell wasn't sustaining him very well.

Naruto heard and saw flashes of fire that were quickly extinguished. Rough hands grabbed him and Sasuke both. He felt an immediate infusion of blessed, restorative evil course though him. His eyesight partially returned. There was a drastic lessening of his discomfort, but there were also sounds of sizzling skin, and hissed, yelped, and growled curses of pain from whoever had touched Sasuke. Even stripped of power as Sasuke was, his nature still opposed any hellish creature.

"Fuck!" That was Gaara's voice. Naruto saw him sucking his burned hand.

Flames sprang up around someone. Utakata. Their dark pit became dimly illuminated. Utakata too was shaking his injured hand from having tried to grab Sasuke. "Quick, we don't have time."

Naruto looked around at them all. Last time he'd seen his friends, he'd been kicking their interfering asses back to Hell. "I don't believe it. You guys intercepted a direct summons? Do you have any idea what the Master will do to you?"

Fuu grimaced. "Yes we do, you ungrateful shit, which is why we want to be gone before he realizes what happened."

"Guys," Naruto was rocked with gratitude. "You'd do this for me? For us?"

The other eight demons glanced at each other. It was Killerbee who marched forward and clouted Naruto a stunning blow to his head. "Stop vomiting your abnormal feelings all over us and _shag ass,_ you idiot!"

Naruto slung a senseless Sasuke over his shoulders, and jogged after his friends. They ran single-file through the twisting, winding tunnel leading from the pit. Utakata led the way.

-oOo-

"There isn't a corner of Hell the Master doesn't know," Naruto panted some time later. His friends' borrowed power was already starting to run low in him. "Where are we going?"

"Wormhole," Gaara answered. "Or, at least that's what humans call it. Regardless, it is a doorway that leads to other realms of existence."

"I didn't know there were any in Hell. The Master knows of these?"

"Probably. But if we get you there and through the doorway before he locates you, you should be safe. He has no power outside of _this_ Hell. There are plenty of different hells in creation, though."

"Still don't know why you're helping me," Naruto said again.

Roshi, who rarely spoke, did so now. "There is no loyalty among demons, you're right about that. But the nine of us, being special, look out for each other. We're sort of all part of each other, as you know. Failing to help you would be like failing to help ourselves. And we think what the Master did to you was wrong. No matter how brainwashed you are, we're not letting one of our own be sacrificed. Now shut the hell up and _run._ "

-oOo-

It was a brave plan, but futile. Their Master's ominous laughter could be heard reverberating throughout the entirety of Hell. Naruto's fellow demons were obliterated one by one as they ran, disintegrating into flames. Gaara managed to vanish before he could be fried, as did Utakata.

Naruto stood alone, with Sasuke on his shoulders, listening to the fading echo of his friends' screams. He sincerely hoped Gaara and Utakata were able to elude capture, but he wasn't very hopeful. He waited.

"Naruto…" Sasuke rasped faintly.

Naruto stroked the angel's arm, where it hung down one side of his chest. "Shh, I got you. He'll summon me to him soon, but I won't leave you."

"He'll… kill you… like… others…"

Naruto wished he could be sure that wasn't going to happen. "He might not. If he wanted me dead he would have killed me already. I don't care what he does to me. So long as you're with me, I can take anything he dishes out." Naruto thought for a moment. "Listen, Sasuke… let me do all the talking, okay? I may be able to talk our way into a lesser sentence. Just promise you won't believe what I'm telling him, all right?"

Sasuke tried to nod.

A moment later, they disappeared from the tunnel, summoned at last.

* * *

They stared upward at the huge throne of black stone. Naruto stood proudly, head high. Sasuke was being supported by Naruto's arm around his back, and his own arm slung across Naruto's shoulders. They both stared at their captor.

"Ah, _yes._ How good of you to finally join me."

"I don't appreciate being fucked with," Naruto snarled. "I did what you asked and completed my mission. You should be rewarding me like you promised, not summoning me against my will."

"Is that right," their captor smiled. "I suppose you mean the place at my right hand, yes?"

"I think I deserve it, after what you've put me through."

"Naruto, do be silent. I'd like to take this time to focus on the one I've been waiting millennia to see again." Another smile. Those smiles were truly mesmerizing, Sasuke decided.

Sasuke had been studying this once-angel with interest. He remembered him from when he'd been the archangel in charge of him and a few others. Perhaps it was these obscure origins that caused the differences, he didn't know. He only knew that the Master of Hell was no demon, as he'd previously thought. He was not naked like a demon, and did not have demonic traits. Why, he looked very similar to Sasuke himself, complete with an ephemeral garment that hung off one shoulder, though his was black.

"Allow me to ease your discomfort," their captor was saying. He waved one elegant hand.

Sasuke could suddenly breathe. Energy flowed into him so that, though the atmosphere was still dreadfully oppressive, he was able to withstand it now. He stood upright next to Naruto, gazing at the throne's occupant. "You shouldn't be able to have power over me."

That ominous laugh again. It truly was the embodiment of evil. "Ah, but I do. You and I share a connection, Sasuke."

"Because you were an angel once?"

"Because we're related." Their captor's eyes suddenly flashed red. It was not the same sort of red as Naruto's eyes had been, though. "Welcome to Hell… little brother."

-oOo-

Sasuke stared, not understanding. Familial ties were a mortal concept, not a heavenly one.

Naruto turned shocked eyes back and forth between his Master and his lover. "No fucking way."

"Don't you remember my name… before I'd been banished?" Sasuke's brother asked him. "Nowadays people have all sorts of names for me. Satan, Lucifer, the devil, etc. But you know my name, Sasuke. My true name."

He did remember. "Itachi…" Sasuke felt weightless, insubstantial. As if the mere whisper of one of the blistering winds that sometimes blew through Hell would do the job of finishing him off.

Itachi smiled. "Yes. I see you do remember."

Sasuke straightened himself, remembering where he was. The dark red and black blasted landscape, and the distant screams of the tormented did nothing to make him forget that he was in a predicament. "What do you want with me?"

"Why, I want you to rule at my side, of course. At my left hand, to be precise, where you belong. What else could I possibly want with you, brother? Did you think I meant you harm?"

Sasuke sneered openly. He didn't believe for a moment that this thing before him harbored any love for a brother lost, if in fact he was his brother. "That will never happen. I will never consent to that!" He took hold of Naruto's arm, and made as if to leave.

Itachi watched him for several moments, clearly amused. "I'm afraid you cannot simply will yourself about anymore, Sasuke. You're here until I say you can leave. As for your assertion that you will never do as I want, well. We shall see. After all, you've fallen so far already."

"What are you talking about?" Sasuke snapped. "You sent this demon to prey on me and corrupt me, and he failed entirely."

"Actually, he didn't," Itachi said smoothly. He sat back on his throne, and crossed one leg over the other. "Would you like to hear a story?"

Sasuke looked at Naruto, and found the demon looking back at him. Naruto gave a small, infinitesimal shrug. _What choice do we have?_ the gesture said. Sasuke looked back up at Itachi.

-oOo-

Itachi began. "There was once a race of powerful angels, possessed of free will. However, they sought to challenge their Maker, and so they were obliterated. All save two. The elder of the two was given charge of one of the groups of the new race of angels. His younger brother was put into this group. The younger brother had his mind wiped of any memory of his previous existence, so that he came to believe he was like other angels.

"The new race was devoid of free will, mere puppets to do what they were bid. The older brother behaved according to the new dictates and was obedient. He wanted to be near his younger brother. But then man was created and all were instructed to bow down before him. The older brother refused. He would not bow down to what he considered a lesser creature, and so he was banished. Sent away from his brother, the one thing he truly cared about. Before he left, he whispered in his brother's ear."

Sasuke, who had not thought of that day since it occurred, could almost hear the whispers now. _You are different. Never believe you are like them, Sasuke. Follow your own mind._ How could he possibly have forgotten that? Looking back, he realized these whispers had guided him for most of his life.

"The younger brother was watched more carefully than he ever knew or realized," Itachi continued. "He became powerful, a powerful ally against evil. It was decided that the younger brother would be the new savior of man… provided he could pass a simple test."

A prickle of foreboding ran through Sasuke. He recalled the tale Naruto had told of the savior for mankind, how if he fell, then all mankind would fall… "No. Please, no," he whispered. He saw that Naruto's face was lowered in misery. _God, no!_

"Oh, yes," Itachi said cheerfully. "That younger brother was doing such good work in the Earth that he was given the ultimate offer, a chance to change the world which, to be fair, he was already doing single-handedly. But that meant, of course, that my chances of seeing him again would dwindle to nothing. In fact, my little brother wasn't turning out at all how I'd hoped. I couldn't possibly allow him to become such an agent for good. My brother, a _savior_. Unthinkable. I had to send in a specialist to retrieve him, to hopefully tempt him to my side before that could happen."

"And I say again, your plan failed," Sasuke bit out. Had he thought he'd felt pain when Konohamaru died? When he'd been banished from Heaven? He'd had mankind depending on him and he'd failed them. He'd failed Heaven's hopes for him. He had to push the knowledge away to focus. _I won't fail Naruto._ "Evil never wins."

"On the contrary," Itachi hissed. "Evil _always_ wins. The one great advantage of evil over good is the power to lie and deceive. We can bend rules, or ignore them altogether, if we wish. The forces of good are bound by their strict rules, and so they always lose.

"Naruto, skilled deceiver, reeled you in with ease. Didn't you feel it? Your disconnection with Heaven the moment you doubted your superiors?"

_Him and Naruto, walking in the supermarket behind Konohamaru and his mother._

_'Does it seem fair?'_

_'It doesn't.'_

"Or the way your discomfort around Naruto vanished the moment you'd accepted him into your heart?

_'Please, come with me Sasuke. You're meant to help me. I feel it.'_

"Didn't you notice yourself feeling emotions and sensations no angel ever feels, the more you became tainted with a minion of Hell?"

_'I want to feel more of your heat. Your heat is enjoyable.'_

_The forest…that fullness…_

_'You killed him… Stop lying to me!'_

He'd felt anger and betrayal at Naruto's actions in Hebron, fury over Konohamaru. But that didn't mean-

"There was a price for your choice, Sasuke. You saw what happened with the demons and the plane. You traded your power for your desires."

Sasuke glared up at the throne. "You're lying. About everything. I'd be a fool to believe anything you said." He tried to believe this statement, to take comfort in it.

"I think your greatest weakness is your pride, Sasuke," Itachi said thoughtfully. "It was the crack Naruto used to reach your mind. He manipulated your pride cleverly. Your pride blinded you to the fact that he tried to tell you the truth about all of this. Choices. He's right, and this is all about choices. Had you listened even then, late as the hour was with you banished and all, you might have spared yourself, might have been forgiven by your superiors, and allowed back into Heaven. But no. You chose to follow your desires right into Hell itself, despite Naruto's warning. My, how very evil you are," Itachi whispered in pleasure. "How utterly, satisfyingly evil."

" _I'm not evil!_ " Sasuke suddenly screamed.

"Oh, but you are. You took the hand of a demon and let him lead you astray. You went willingly, arrogant enough to think that you were sent to reform him when the veriest simpleton knows such a thing would be ludicrous. You witnessed his evil, and gave him your heart. You let him set in motion a series of events that will culminate in a third world war, and ultimately the destruction of the world itself. You did nothing to reverse the events in Hebron. You forgave him. You let him kill an innocent boy in your name, and you forgave him yet again. Lastly, and this is the part of the tale I find most delicious, you had _congress_ with a demon." Itachi put his head back against his throne and closed his eyes as if in the throes of ecstasy. "I cannot tell you the shock that rippled throughout all of creation at the moment of your surrender." He opened his eyes to pin Sasuke with them. "Did you feel it, Sasuke? That point of no return?"

Sasuke closed his own eyes in shame, remembering.

* * *

_A wordless cry of misery left Sasuke as he dragged Naruto forward and kissed him._

_It was capitulation to all his distressing confusion, that kiss. The stress of his grief and negative emotions, the pain of losing Konohamaru and knowing he himself was to blame, all combined to push him past his limit. He gave in at that moment. Maybe he even gave up. Certainly it was the first time he'd neglected to meet adversity with forbearance. He did something selfish and went after what he wanted instead of abstaining from his desire with patience._

_A pivotal moment._

_Touching Naruto was not the same as kissing him. Sasuke learned this distinction immediately. If he'd thought he'd been intimately acquainted with a demon because he loved one and occasionally touched one, he was quickly apprised of his erroneous thinking._

_Kissing Naruto, who in truth was kissing him back with considerably more skill after his initial hesitance, opened up a whole new world to Sasuke. A world his ancient being had never known or experienced. It wasn't just touching lips._

_Naruto's lips on his burned. They burned so that Sasuke's face was suffused with the heat. He knew smoke drifted from their joined lips, as did a few defensive flames from Naruto's mouth. The rest of him still flamed brightly, but Sasuke withstood this. Naruto was stiff beneath his hands, but then the burn lessened; a different burn was slowly rising in them both. They were left to swelter in their own desire._

_Terrifying. His light throbbed inside him with the force of his desire and his wings quivered in the air. He and Naruto were both in their manifested states now, their true states, and this physical contact between them,_ kissing, _terrified Sasuke with the wealth of feelings it called up. He pulled back at last._

_"We shouldn't," he gasped._

_Naruto had him by the head. His very breath was inflammatory as he whispered against Sasuke's mouth. "No, we shouldn't. But I mean to have you anyway, angel."_

_And the words had been devastating to Sasuke. Devastating. But Naruto held him and whispered that it was all right. Explained that it was desire that gave off all these alarming feelings in himself, and told him he wanted him. And he'd admitted to wanting Naruto as well._

_He'd consented to be shown by a demon what desire truly was._

_-oOo-  
_

_When Naruto had born him to the ground encased in his arms and tails, he'd felt his misery leave him, but his nerves and fright remain. He'd discovered that he was nude. With his surrender, his garment of modesty was absent. And that wasn't all. As before with the advent of his arousal, he now had new anatomy. Exposed now, he'd lifted his head from the ground and stared downward at it in stark disbelief._

_His shame had overwhelmed him then. As often as he'd seen Naruto's organ, and he had secretly gazed at it often, it had somehow been just one more thing that defined their differences. Naruto was evil, he was not; Naruto was a demon, he was not, Naruto was naked, he was not. But now, with his own oddly compelling organ, the differences shrank. It was another thing that frightened him. After his first peek, his hands flew up and covered his face._

_Naruto was gentle. He took hold of Sasuke's wrist and tugged it down slowly. Sasuke could feel where Naruto lay on top of him, warming him with his heat. Naruto held up his own hand then, palm inward. His hard white claws retracted, leaving short nails. Just as slowly, carefully, he'd lowered his hand so that his fingertips grazed Sasuke's cheekbone. He only did that, only lay on Sasuke, with his tails securely around him, and brushed his cheek lightly._

_The tails were hot, and hummed with power. He wondered how his wings felt to Naruto, if the demon felt the heat of his own flames the way Sasuke did. He stared upward, into that bold, beautiful face, into those red, red eyes, and felt the majority of his fear seep away. Those eyes, though evil, stared into his own with more love than any mortal creature could contain._

_Naruto felt him relax and smiled. "I'm going to touch you."_

_He'd nodded, surrendering to Naruto, letting him take over, take charge._

_"Here." His fingers left Sasuke's cheek to travel down the strong column of his throat. "And here." Over his collarbone. "Here." Naruto leaned partially aside to run a hand to Sasuke's chest. His flaming palm rested on the firm pectoral, causing the bud of Sasuke's nipple to tighten at the heat. A frission of pleasure had Sasuke arching on a light gasp. The hand trailed lower, the short nails sending rippling sensations over Sasuke's skin, until it reached the juncture of his thighs. "Here," Naruto said softly. That flaming hand circled his length and Sasuke moaned, his lip caught between his teeth._

_Naruto watched him, gauging the expression in his eyes, taking in the bitten lip and knitted black brows, as he squeezed and twisted his hand slowly._

_Sasuke's desire seemed to arrive completely with a dull thud in his body, washing away the rest of his fears. Feeling was concentrated in the stiff, trembling length being slowly worked in the demon's hand. He felt an unspeakable feeling of decadent pleasure swamp him. The hand worked up and down, a vise of molten heat that burned and delighted simultaneously._

_He'd thrown his head back then, arching into the demon, only to then feel those luxuriant tails twining sinuously over his nudity. One had slid its sleek tip between the halves of his lower cheeks, while another had fondled his shaft and the jewels beneath it. Yet another had wrapped around his throat, while two more held his wrists immobile and spread wide. His legs were similarly held apart and spread by two more tails wrapped around his ankles. Naruto's hands had skated up his straining torso, to brush over his nipples again with their heat, while he'd resumed kissing him._

_To be touched like this, to share this intimately, left Sasuke utterly helpless with how_ good _it felt. He didn't think anything in Heaven could ever come_ close _to Naruto's touch. He honestly did not know if he would be able to bear the pleasure, so intense was it. He lay meek and willing beneath the demon who proceeded to awaken his senses to this new world of delight._

_The tails were his undoing. Demon tails, like angel's wings, were curious objects. They were not precisely physical things. They were mainly spiritual, manifestations of a demon or angel's soul, such as it was. It was the embodiment of their supernatural power, and as such exceedingly sensitive to any form of contact with another creature's tails._

_Or wings, as the case may be._

_The last two tails latched onto Sasuke's wings where they quivered, and both demon and angel nearly lost consciousness at the unadulterated pleasure that snapped through them. Sasuke was left voiceless, eyes staring blindly. Naruto growled low in his throat, fangs bared. When the sensation passed, he dropped his forehead to Sasuke's chest._

_"What was that," Sasuke asked weakly at length._

_"Spiritual orgasm," Naruto muttered weakly. "Orgasm of the soul, if you want to call it that…though, that was a minor one I think."_

_Sasuke processed this word, and associated it with what humans went through in order to beget children. "Oh. Is that normal?"_

_Naruto lifted his head. "I don't know. I usually mate with demons, and we don't need orgasms. The few times I've done it with humans, same thing. I've heard of the soul orgasming, though… some demons spoke of it…"_

_"Do you think it would be possible to have one as humans do?" Sasuke found the idea of being filled with Naruto's essence intriguing._

_"Well… it_ could _be done, I suppose."_

_Sasuke had freed one of his hands then to stroke one of the oddly dexterous tails. Naruto had shivered and mewled helplessly. Emboldened, Sasuke took a tail in each hand and pulled, letting the tails run through them. He could feel the firm core of each tail hidden beneath the lush fur. Naruto went limp on him, and Sasuke grinned mischievously._

_He had a lot of fun exploring Naruto's tails. He nuzzled each downy white tip, sucked on them, and Naruto nearly cried in pleasure. Sometimes he let Naruto grasp his wings with them, and then it would be his turn to cry out lustfully, nearly mad with delight. But by far the greatest discovery was when Sasuke grabbed the nine tails at their base, near Naruto's tailbone. Here, the tails joined to form one limb, one that was more sensitive than the tails themselves. Sasuke sat in Naruto's lap, firmly rubbing this root from which the tails sprang, and felt the demon reduced to sensual putty in his arms. He rubbed until Naruto roared to Limbo's peculiarly red sky in another of those soulful orgasms._

_And then it was Sasuke's turn._

_Sasuke learned he could bleed, after all. Suffused with Naruto's flaming essence as he was now, he was made vulnerable. Naruto bit Sasuke's tongue deliberately with his sharp fangs, and the pain had startled him quite as much as the rush of blood in his mouth. It was not blood as humans had, but the substance was close enough in meaning. His blood appeared as more of his light, but in liquid form. It ran brightly down his chin. Naruto had drunk this offering reverently, greedily, before Sasuke's power healed him. Then he'd invited Sasuke to do the same. The tails on his genitals had fluttered at that moment, making pleasure throb through him. He'd bitten Naruto's proffered neck in a state of sudden, mindless desire, bitten hard, bitten until he'd drawn blood and drank it in turn._

_And he discovered that Naruto was right: pain and pleasure were the same. They rolled, biting, scratching, and drawing blood. They drank from each other, and the pain_ was _the pleasure. That tingle, whenever Naruto dug his claws into Sasuke, or when he pierced him with his fangs, was far from unpleasant. Even when Sasuke's light healed him, this faint sizzle felt good. He could tell his light in turn both hurt and pleased Naruto. He watched the way the demon hissed as he bit the flesh of his stomach, watched the dark trickle of his strange, demonic blood before slurping it up._

_Naruto's blood crackled down Sasuke's throat with its foreign power. Sasuke's shaft rose and stood even more stiffly, and Naruto noticed with glittering eyes._

_The tails were diabolically, overwhelmingly provocative. They inflamed Sasuke with the very core of all desire and lust, with their fiery, silken caresses. Capable of touching his physical and spiritual bodies as they were, they knew every aspect of his being, concealed or otherwise. They stroked and flicked, rubbed and pet him, almost as ardently as Naruto himself did with his hands._

_God, Naruto's hands. They were everywhere. They joined the tails in driving Sasuke mad with passion. How they tweaked and squeezed, those hands. And his tongue! Naruto's long tongue did things Sasuke had not thought possible. He'd lain there panting, a strengthless and willing slave, as Naruto had shown him delights that fairly seared him in their power._

_At one point, fingers, tail, and tongue had all been inside him. Naruto's first exploration of this orifice had nearly crippled Sasuke with shame again, but the demon had persisted. He'd at first only used his fingers. He'd only flicked the tightly closed opening, and Sasuke's hands had covered his face again. And then the angel had felt that wickedly hot tongue wash over the opening, again and again, and the pleasure had been such that his hands had dragged down his face to hook into his gaping mouth. It seemed he pulled his own jaws wide as the tongue entered him and suction was applied. But then the downy tip of one tail had entered him, along with three fingers, and all three things had moved in him at varying rhythms and intensities so that Sasuke had been sure he was dying._

_But then Naruto had braced himself on his palms. Without warning, his fierce organ had slid into him, blistering his insides with its heat, sharpening his pleasure with its roasting width, and he'd opened his eyes at last. He saw Naruto above him._

_As before, the prolonged physical contact had changed Naruto's eyes. Undoubtedly, the demon had become inured somewhat to Sasuke over the years, but they'd now been in contact so long that his eyes were that odd purple again. He'd gazed down at Sasuke with those enchanting eyes. The smile he'd given then had taken Sasuke's breath, dazzled his senses, and finished the job of fusing their hearts._

_Movement had begun, and Sasuke had been melted by the heat pouring from Naruto, melted into something entirely new. Whatever it was, he didn't recognize himself._

_-oOo-  
_

_How had he lived before, without knowing such pleasure? Without feeling anything? Had he even_ existed _before he'd met Naruto? He didn't think so._

_Naruto's shaft was a driving force within Sasuke, one that savagely branded him with the demon's desire. To be penetrated, claimed, and filled by Naruto this way left Sasuke helpless. Naruto's emotions washed over him and he basked in them, took them in as he took in Naruto's physical body. He felt as if he were dying and being born, all at once._

_Fiery though their mating was, Naruto slowed his movements and drew out the experience. His hips pumped in measured thrusts, pressing deeply as his tails and arms enveloped Sasuke._

_Sasuke felt strengthless. Utterly tranquil, while vitally alive. Naruto's vibrant lovemaking gave him peace, despite the action itself enervating him as it did; this was where he belonged. All doubts were banished in Naruto's arms. Beneath his sure strokes and possessive gaze, Sasuke was cherished._

_Only when time had rolled on endlessly had Naruto sped up. His body hunkered down on Sasuke's as his thrusts became rougher, wilder, and infinitely harder. Correspondingly, Sasuke's pleasure transformed into a sort of reckless, climbing ecstasy that had his eyes widening and his breath hitching in and out of him. It continued to climb, aiming for some climax that, when glimpsed, brought Sasuke's fear crashing back. "Oh," he gasped in a small voice. "No…"_

_"Trust me." Naruto was panting; Sasuke's light was condensing into a brilliance that was killing him. His flames thickened and intensified in turn._

_"No…Naruto, stop…I can't bear it…" His head tossed from side to side._

_"Yes you can." He had to bite his lip and squint to see Sasuke's face._

_The climax was now closer. Sasuke felt slain with pleasure. "No! No!"_

_"Let it come. "_

_"Naruto! Oh God!"_

_"Hold on to me."_

_He didn't think he would be able to take much more and survive, but he obligingly held on through the steeply climbing waves of pleasure. He held on even as Naruto's arms and tails tightened around him. He clung to Naruto desperately, with both arms and wings, and his eyes closed tightly against the pleasure. He'd felt his light seeping into Naruto, just as Naruto's fiery nature was slowly penetrating him more and more with each earth-shattering thrust. Naruto was going to do it, he could tell. He was going to empty himself in Sasuke the way humans did. He would fill him with his spirit._

_When he thought his body could finally stand no more, when he had been full to bursting with ecstasy, Naruto had cranked up the pace. The force of his blazing thrusts had increased. All nine of his erotic tails had slipped over Sasuke's flesh, his wings, and he could feel the pleasure rising in Naruto too. Naruto had gasped, his flames roaring around them both, and the last three or four thrusts had been blindingly hard, until on the final thrust they attained the climax at last. As soulful orgasms went, it was considerably more than anything either of them had experienced:_

_Sasuke's light exploded outward in a supernova of blinding ecstasy, even as Naruto's flames seemed to ignite the very atmosphere of Limbo. Light and fire both shot high into the air in a thick, twisting pillar, the heat of which singed Heaven and Hell alike. They were locked in the throes, close to dead from cataclysmic pleasure, as the climax went on and on and on._

* * *

Yes. Sasuke remembered clearly the point of no return. He remembered his eyes flying open at the penultimate moment to find Naruto's eyes in the process of turning a brilliant blue.

"An angel set on saving a demon," Itachi tittered as he studied Sasuke's expression. "Did no one ever tell you that the road to hell was paved with good intentions?"

Sasuke looked up at his 'brother' with hatred blazing on his face. "There's nothing you can say or do to make me accept you or this place. Nothing. Ever."

Itachi smiled… then cut his eyes to Naruto at last. He studied him as well.

"I did send you into a suicide mission," he said to Naruto now. "No hellish creature can withstand prolonged contact with a heavenly one without permanent, irreversible alteration. Still, I wagered you were strong enough to last until you'd succeeded. I admit, I was worried for a moment, when it became obvious how much you were changing. That business in Hebron, the way that structure was left unguarded for you, to test you… higher ups were giving you a chance to make the right decision, a chance to truly be saved. In a moment of weakness, I told your friends to bring you back, if they could. Not because I feared for you, but because I didn't want one of my precious demons, my favorite one no less, becoming an agent of good. The insult would have been too much, on top of them trying to turn Sasuke. But you fought your friends. And then you proceeded to carry out your mission beautifully. You didn't succeed in the manner I'd intended for you to, of course. Sasuke isn't against Heaven and all it stands for. But the end result is the same: Sasuke now stands in Hell, awaiting my pleasure. Your mission is complete." Itachi's smile was wide and benign.

Naruto risked a hopeful glance at Sasuke. "Wh-what? I'll be rewarded after all? Sasuke and I will rule at your side?"

"Sasuke will rule at my left hand, yes. You, Naruto, will die."

Shocked silence greeted this.

Naruto's mouth opened and closed a few times. "Master… I don't understand."

"I won't let you hurt him," Sasuke warned angrily.

Itachi lifted his hand, and Naruto was swallowed by the hottest fires of Hell, the ones not even demons could withstand. His screams were deafening, earsplitting howls of agony.

"Naruto!" Sasuke yelled. He tried to run to him, but the fires were too hot. He could see Naruto writhing in them, and turned imploring eyes to Itachi. "Please…"

"Yes?" Itachi tilted his head in question.

Sasuke saw where this was leading, and hesitated.

"Naruto's my strongest demon," Itachi commented idly. "It will take awhile for those flames to finish him… Choices, Sasuke. Even now, you are given a choice. A last choice."

The screams were unbearable. Sasuke felt as if they ruptured him, they were so horrific. They were the worst, worse than everything he'd discovered down here, than everything that had happened since meeting Naruto. He again tried to go to him, pressing through the flames, intent on getting to him, but his light reacted powerfully. It flashed brightly, throwing him away from the flames. He might be Fallen and stripped of his grace, but he was still an angel; he was powerless to help Naruto.

Sasuke got slowly to his feet, his head bowed. If this was what it came down to, then so be it. "All right."

"All right, what?" Itachi asked pleasantly. The screams seemed to bother him not at all.

Sasuke considered it. If he worded it correctly, he could come out the winner. Even Itachi had to be bound by his word, if it was given. "All right, I'll take up the place at your left hand… if."

"You think you can bargain with me?"

"I think you want me in that position badly enough that you will give me what I want."

"I can refuse you, you know."

"And I can refuse you," Sasuke countered. "You need my express consent or you'd have me at your side already." He grimaced. "I need to _choose_ you."

Itachi regarded him with hooded eyes. "And what would you have of me?"

"Naruto, alive and unharmed. He is to remain alive and unharmed for as long as I remain alive and unharmed. Give me that, swear that Naruto and I will both be safe for eternity, and I will rule at your left hand."

"Done." Itachi flipped his hand.

-oOo-

The flames around Naruto were gone. He collapsed to the ground. Sasuke ran to him, and gathered him close. "Are you all right?" he whispered fiercely in his ear. He held him tightly. "You're unhurt?"

Naruto squeezed back just as hard. His burns and all his pain were gone. "I'm fine. But Sasuke, you shouldn't have. Never, ever enter into a bargain with him. He owns you now. And he can't be outsmarted."

"I don't care. It's like you said before. I can take anything he dishes out, so long as we're together."

Naruto refrained from pointing out again that no one matched the Master in cunning. He knew there was some catch to this, and reluctantly released Sasuke to stand up and face the throne.

-oOo-

Itachi had watched the embrace with a neutral expression. He gestured now to his left. Sasuke sighed, but walked to it with his head high. He climbed the black, stone steps to the dais and turned when he stood on the place marked for him. He looked down at Naruto and tried to give him an encouraging smile.

Naruto met his Master's eyes, trying to guess what would happen next. He caught Sasuke's smile and felt warmed by it. No matter what came next, he'd be unharmed. Sasuke had made sure to extract that promise. He winked at Sasuke.

"Sasuke," Itachi said suddenly. "Do you feel the terms of our agreement have been met to your satisfaction?" he kept his eyes on Naruto.

"Yes," Sasuke answered.

"You bear witness that I adhered to your stipulations? Naruto is both safe and unharmed, and will continue to be both things as long as you enjoy the same privileges?"

"Yes."

"Our bargain is complete then, yes?" Itachi persisted.

"Yes," Sasuke said. "It is. You upheld your end."

"And you will uphold yours, without deviation or complaint, from this point onward?"

Sasuke did not hesitate. "Yes. I will." He felt the promise settle into his being, binding.

"Good," Itachi gestured at where Naruto stood. "Say your goodbyes, then."

Sasuke turned his head sharply to look at Itachi. "What?"

Naruto understood though. He should have known. His insides quivered at the loss already, but he hastened to beg. "Master, please… please don't do this. I did everything you asked of me, I brought him down here…"

Sasuke looked back and forth between them. "What's happening, I don't understand. Naruto isn't going anywhere. You gave me your word!"

"I gave my word to keep him safe and unharmed. I did not say he would be either of those things _here_."

"But-" Sasuke turned horrified eyes to Naruto. Understanding hit him with all the force of a thunderclap. "No…"

Naruto would rather face those flames and more, than eternity without Sasuke. He got humbly to his knees, and lowered his head. "I'm begging you, Master. Please. _Please._ I'll do anything, kill a hundred angels if you ask me to, a thousand. Anything, but don't send me from him, please."

Sasuke exercised every particle of his will to keep from flying apart, to keep from losing himself. The moment he'd understood, he'd tried to go to Naruto, but his promise to abide the terms of the agreement prevented him. He stood as if chained to his place to the left of the throne. "Why?" he hissed.

"He betrayed me," Itachi said now. "Time and again, he betrayed me in favor of you, had even planned to abandon the mission altogether. And then there is his love for you. You truly have no idea, Sasuke, just how frightfully powerful his love for you is. He's never been able to voice it, but it is there, and I can't bear it. Even now, it shines in him brightly enough to hurt my eyes.

"You were right, when you told him love can transform anything. His love for you gives him the power to resist me, to defy me… left alone, he might take it into his diseased mind to usurp my control of Hell… he could, you know. Especially if he felt it would free you from my clutches. His love is that strong. Killing him would be best, but alas, you extracted that promise, so banishment is the only option left to me."

Naruto remained prostrate. Tears began rolling slowly down Sasuke's cheeks. He stared at Naruto's bowed head, drinking in the sight of him, trying to store away his beauty, to hold onto it for as long as he possibly could. _Naruto, I'm so sorry! I've erred again…_

"But the main reason is quite simple," Itachi went on. "I want him to suffer. And depriving him of you will ensure that he does. Did you honestly think I'd be able to tolerate his presence with the evidence of his feelings staring at me from his treacherous face for the rest of time?" Naruto lifted his head then, and Sasuke saw that he too was crying. Itachi looked at Naruto's heterochromic eyes, and suppressed his shudder of dislike. "He deserves to suffer… as do you, for refusing me, Sasuke. And so you shall."

"All because he's no longer purely demon?" Sasuke raged around his silent sobs. His tears dripped from his chin to fall to the black stones beneath his feet. They glowed and smoked where they fell. "You can tolerate my goodness, but not his, when mine is considerably more? That is hypocrisy!"

"I suppose," Itachi returned mildly. And then, with a wave of his hand, Naruto was gone.

* * *

Sasuke's scream of his name was heard in every corner of Hell. It was heard beyond Hell, on Earth, where dogs whined piteously at the tortured sound, and other animals behaved oddly. It was heard in Heaven, where every angel there stood stock still, the scream quivering through them.

And it was heard by Naruto, where he'd been banished.

He sat where he'd landed, completely still, listening to Sasuke's scream fade. In its wake, Naruto felt a quiet emptiness within himself.

This lasted only a moment.

He picked himself up and dusted himself off, then looked around. The landscape was a searing red nearly as dark as blood. The terrain was featureless, and stretched as far as his sharp eyes could see. He was at the edge of the huge fissure caused by that monstrous bolt of lightning, the one that had cracked Limbo in two. He stared down into the black depths, and felt it accurately mirrored the hole inside him. He was in Limbo. True Limbo, behind the gate. He knew there were things here, creatures that could prey on him, no matter the fact that he was a powerful demon. All beings consigned to Limbo suffered. No exceptions.

And this was where he would remain, forever. Without Sasuke. The emptiness in him finally vanished as it was filled with the agony of his loss. He sank slowly to his knees, and put his head on the ground.

Naruto folded his arms over his stomach. Hugging his pain close, he began weeping in great, wrenching gusts of grief. He wished he could die. _Sasuke…_

But he couldn't. _Oh Sasuke…_

And his grief was so great, his hatred of his master so strong, that his true nature took over. _Sasuke, my love…_

He lifted his head and stared in the direction of Hell, an eternity away. Sasuke was there. His angel. He let out a growl, a roar of his tragic rage that had all of Limbo rumbling.

Then Naruto got to his feet, still clutching his agony close, and began walking.

* * *

Sasuke heard that roar, and felt he would gladly end his life if it would ease Naruto's pain. His sobs rang through Hell, drowning out the screams of the other occupants. Itachi watched him with keen interest.

"I would tell you to take heart, Brother," Itachi said with feigned concern. "But I'm afraid you will never adapt to being here. Unlike me, your mind is still firmly with Heaven. I don't suppose you'd be willing to reject Him now and all He stands for? No? Alas, I didn't think so. Your pain at being cast out will twist in your gut forever, as will the knowledge of how you failed humanity. And the loss of Naruto will torture you better than any method I can think of or devise. That is as it should be, of course. I can feel him. He has some misbegotten notion to come here and get you, but that's impossible, even for him. He could walk forever, literally, and he'd never be any closer to you than he is right now. Such is Limbo. This knowledge sharpens your pain, yes? Good. Your suffering will be my food and drink. How I will feast on your pain, little brother."

Sasuke straightened up with difficulty. He looked at his captor.

Itachi gazed up into Sasuke's murderous eyes. "Yes," he breathed. "I can tell what you're thinking. You and he both thought you'd live happily ever after down in Hell, star-crossed lovers who would triumph over evil. Now that you know you won't, you want nothing more than to rip me asunder with your bare hands. Indulge the feeling, Sasuke. Nurture it. Let it fester. Grief over your loss of him will be all you have of Naruto until the end of time. And you and I both know that time has no end for creatures like us."

Sasuke's heart was breaking. Not broken. _Breaking._ Caught in a continuous, excruciating process of being broken that would never end.

"As I told you before, evil always wins. Always, Sasuke. Ah, come now, don't cry again. That is one manifestation of your pain that I cannot tolerate. Better if you don't show such weakness here, Sasuke. That's it, little brother. Pull yourself together. Your pain is great and debilitating, I can see, but far better if you endured it in silence. Your sobs annoy me. He is gone. It is done. You will come to look at the years of infinity without him with dry eyes, I'm sure. No? Never, you say? Then you will bleed, Sasuke. You will bleed your soul into the black stones of Hell, and feed its flames with your anguish. There will be no end to your torment. None whatsoever. You will mourn the loss of Naruto, feel the gnawing pain of his absence, forever. Such a messy emotion, love. I don't know why you indulge in it. Still, this has to be better than your previous existence, yes? Here at my side? After all, you know what they say…"

-oOo-

_"Better to reign in Hell than to serve in Heaven." ~ John Milton_


End file.
